Adventures in Hoenn
by DiscoStu09
Summary: Divergence in 'Gotta Catch Ya Later' Gary tells Ash that he needs to grow up if he wants to become good enough to win a Pokemon League. This has a major impact on Ash and his journey in the Hoenn region. Now Ash is more determined than ever to conquer the Hoenn League. Smarter/Progressively more mature Ash. AdvanceShipping. Discontinued - Adopted by Child-Of-R'lyeh.
1. Divergence

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**This story starts in the episode, Gotta Catch Ya Later, where Ash is chasing after Gary. This story will divert from what Gary tells Ash and it will have a major impact on Ash. This is what I think the Hoenn saga could've been like if Ash aged, and matured.**

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**Introduction ******– **Chapter 1 – Divergence**

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"Hey Gary! Gary! Wait up!" Ash shouted impatiently as the young trainer from Pallet Town ran up a steep hill to where his rival – former – rival, he should say, waited for him. His most loyal companion, Pikachu, trailed not too far behind him.

"What's up, Ash?" Gary Oak, former Pokémon Trainer and now aspiring Pokémon Researcher, asked him curiously.

A few seconds later Ash stopped in front of him before bent over and rested his hands on his knees. The young trainer sucked in the air; he had run quite a far way from Professor Oak's lab to reach here.

"Have you come to say goodbye, Ash?" Gary asked him.

"Yeah." Ash panted.

"Thanks Ash." Gary said gratefully.

Ash straightened his back and he looked Gary in the eyes after getting his breath back, "Why are you leaving so soon?"

"I don't know. It's just like I need to keep on moving." Gary informed him, "I want to keep travelling and learning more about Pokémon. So Ash, what is your plan of attack going to be?"

"I'm not sure yet." Ash replied.

Gary frowned for a moment. For most of his life he hadn't rated Ash as someone that could become a good Pokémon Trainer but throughout his journey in Johto, that opinion began to change. Ash could come up with some amazing strategies on a fly and he had some powerful Pokémon, like his Charizard. However there were still issues that Ash had that would prevent him from winning a league and then taking on the Elite Four to become a Pokémon Champion. He wondered for a moment if he should tell his friend this and he decided that, while his words might seem harsh, he hoped that it would have a positive effect on Ash in the long run.

"I need to tell you something, Ash." Gary told him seriously.

"What is it?" Ash asked him with a confused face.

"You need to grow up if you want to be good enough to win a league." Gary said bluntly.

"What?! I beat you, didn't I?!" Ash said angrily.

"Pika!" the electric mouse also piped up with an angry expression on his face.

Gary's calm demeanour didn't change and he explained, "Yes, you did beat me Ash. However that isn't the same as winning a league. For most of my journey, I was distracted by my interest in learning about Pokémon and their evolutions and I didn't spend as much time training them as I should have."

"I still don't understand how this is related to me." A puzzled Ash told him.

"Do you remember our battle Ash? Your Charizard defeated three of my Pokémon. The problem that you have is that you rely on your Charizard or Pikachu to pull off big wins." Gary explained to his friend, "Those two are your strongest Pokémon and there is a fair gap between them and the rest of your Pokémon. Do you remember that time back when we were at my grandpa's lab and he checked our Pokédex?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I remember that he said I had seen a lot of Pokémon but I had only caught a small amount."

"And he said that I had seen less but caught a lot more." Gary reminded him, "And do you remember the argument that we had afterwards?"

Ash could recall that argument clearly. Ash didn't think that it was a good strategy because you couldn't befriend such a large amount of Pokémon but Gary believed that he needed a good large variety of Pokémon.

"We were both wrong, Ash." Gary shocked Ash with his comment. Ash never thought that the day would come that Gary Oak admit that he was wrong. "You have too little Pokémon, Ash and I have far too many. You need to find the right balance and you need to stop catching the same kinds of Pokémon."

"What do you mean?" Ash questioned him, "I have plenty of different kinds of Pokémon."

"You have a decent mix of different types of Pokémon but the way that they battle is very similar." Gary told him sharply, "Most of your Pokémon are quick and hard hitters Ash. That is the way that you like to battle. You use a fast but powerful offensive strategy. Apart from Snorlax, you don't have any Pokémon that can slow the tempo and grind a long and hard win. You need to learn when it is good to use your natural battle style and the times when to change it up. That is the reason why you lost to Harrison. The both of you had a similar battling style and in the end it came down to your strongest Pokémon."

Ash frowned and he had a thoughtful look on his face as he thought about what Gary was telling him.

"You should also start going out on your own." Gary informed him, "You did a smart thing by travelling with your friends Misty and Brock, especially Brock. However you're at the point where you have to stop relying on them and start taking care of yourself. It is the only way you can grow up and mature."

"I don't know. I don't think that I can travel on my own, well not alone; I have Pikachu with me, of course. However I think it would be pretty boring without any more people around." Ash glanced at his little companion.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily.

Gary shrugged, "It's just a suggestion, Ashy-boy. It's up to you if you want to take my advice or not. Before I leave I just want to you to ponder one final question. How does travelling with you, help your friend Brock achieve his dream?"

Ash couldn't find an answer to respond and Gary farewell-ed his friend but not before Ash gave him back half the Poké Ball that they had broke before they had begun their journeys. The grandson of Professor Oak soon headed off into the forest eager to start his own journey to become a Pokémon Researcher.

Fifteen minutes after Gary had departed, Ash and Pikachu both sat on a branch in a high tree and they could easily see the whole town of Pallet from their position.

"Do you think Gary is right, Pikachu?" Ash asked his most trusted companion. "Most of my Pokémon do seem to be quick and strong, don't they?"

"Pika." The electric mouse nodded in agreement.

"What about Brock?" Ash asked the electric Pokémon, "How _is_ he going to achieve his dream travelling with us?"

"Chu..." Pikachu said sadly. He didn't know either.

"I suppose he can see a lot of different Pokémon but that's about it." Ash said, "He was always more preoccupied with cooking us meals, taking care of his Pokémon and doing general chores around the camp... Gary is right! We do rely on him a lot, don't we?"

Pikachu nodded.

"I'll give him a call when I get back home. It would be best to get his opinion on this." Ash decided, "Everything is changing Pikachu, I don't think I like it."

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted and he pointed high into the sky. Ash looked up into the sky and out of a large cloud; he was astonished to see Ho-oh flying serenely through the air. Its beauty was so majestic and Ash couldn't take his eyes off it. The only Pokémon that he had ever seen that had the same awe inspiring beauty and gracefulness was the Lugia he had become friends with back in the Orange Islands.

"It's Ho-oh!"

The two of them watched it fly off in the direction that Ash knew the Hoenn region was located in.

"I know where it is headed. It's going to the Hoenn region. That's where all the Pokémon that I haven't seen before are and all of the battles that I am destined to fight in. Are you ready, Pikachu?!" Ash said in excitement.

"Pikachu!" the electric mouse equalled his trainer's excitement.

They both eagerly jumped off the branched and they landed easily on the soft terrain.

"I hate to do this to mum, but we can be just like Gary and start a whole new journey too!"

"Pika!"

Just as they began to run home, they didn't far because they ran over a concealed hole and they fell harshly in.

"I wasn't prepared for that," Ash muttered painfully, "and to be frank, I'm getting really irritated falling into holes."

Ash and Pikachu immediately knew who had dug this hole and the trio of laughs above them just confirmed it.

"Prepare for trouble,  
and Make it double!  
To protect the world from devastation,  
to unite all people within our nation,  
to denounce the evil of truth and love,  
to extend our reach to the stars of above,  
Jessie!  
James!  
Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!  
Surrender now or prepare to fight!  
Meowth, that's Right!"

"Team Rocket..." Ash said unsurprised.

The Team Rocket trio that consisted of Jessie, James and Meowth grinned down at them smugly.

"We're making a new start too and that is by going back to our reliable pit fall." Jessie informed them.

"This time however we dug it just a little bit deeper, that's the new part." James told them.

"And now you're in a whole lot of trouble." Meowth said smugly.

It had been a long day for Ash Ketchum after everything that Gary had told him and he wasn't in the mood for all of this. He quickly picked up Pikachu and he threw the electric mouse up into the air much to Team Rocket's shock. For a moment they thought that he was finally giving Pikachu up but unfortunately for them, that wasn't the case.

"Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu smirked widely when he landed back on the ground just in front of Team Rocket and he unleashed a large burst of electricity at the trio. Team Rocket screamed in pain and when Pikachu finally let up on the attack, they fell to the ground.

Back in the hole, Ash pulled out the knife and fork that Brock had given him for his lunch and he used them to climb out of the hole.

"Nice work, Pikachu." Ash praised him when he was out of the hole.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed appreciatively.

"Why haven't we blasted off?" James wondered painfully.

"Because we need to talk!" Ash scowled at them.

"We have no interest in talking to you, twerp." Jessie growled but she couldn't get back up yet. She could still feel some shocks going through her body.

"Too bad because I'm telling you all once and for all to leave us alone!" Ash snapped at them.

"Not until we capture Pikachu." Meowth groaned.

"You do know that you have been trying that for almost 3 years right?" Ash asked them dully, "This whole time you could have simply captured a wild Pikachu and then trained it instead of being beaten every time like a pack of losers."

"How dare you address us that way, twerp!" Jessie snarled at him.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Ash shrugged, "besides does your boss even know your names?"

The trio looked startled at the question and they weren't able to come up with a decent answer because they truly didn't know if the boss knew who they were. As for Meowth, the boss didn't exactly hesitate to replace him with a Pokémon that he despised more than anything, a Persian.

"Do you really think that your boss is going to praise you by bringing Pikachu in after years of failed attempts to capture him?" Ash inquired, "I mean really think about it. Considering how big the Team Rocket organisation is, will you boss be impressed with you bringing in a Pikachu that he could easily catch in the wild?"

"You know, the twerp has a point." James admitted.

"I know! I am as shocked as you are!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Don't listen to him!" Jessie snapped at them, "Don't forget how powerful his Pikachu is!"

"Pikachu's strength comes from training and the bond between us." Ash told her, "Even if by some terrible miracle that you were able to take Pikachu, he would never fight for you and so you wouldn't be able to unleash his full power. Besides a leader of an evil organisation such as Team Rocket would only be interested in rare and legendary type Pokémon and Pikachu doesn't fall into any of those categories."

Jessie couldn't come up with a retort to that.

"Hopefully that sinks in. Now you can all go off and try to capture rare and legendary Pokémon or you can quit Team Rocket." Ash told them.

"You're joking!" Jessie spat furiously, "Why would we leave Team Rocket?"

"If you want to keep on being failures than stay with Team Rocket, but I saw the good inside of you the day that you help me save the world back at Shamouti Island. You all do some much better if you embraced that goodness inside of you. Meowth... do you realise that you can talk?"

"Of course I can talk, you idiot!" Meowth shouted annoyed.

"Don't you understand how rare that is for a Pokémon to talk in the common tongue?" Ash pointed out, "You could become a Pokémon translator. Do you know how many people would love to find out what their Pokémon thought about them?"

"You're right!" Meowth gasped.

"Why haven't we thought of this before?!" James said in astonishment.

"Think of all the money we could rake in!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Even more astonishing... is that it would be perfectly legal!" Meowth realised, "We would actually not have to worry about getting busted!"

Ash grinned at them before he turned away, "Goodbye Jessie, James and Meowth. The five of us has been through a lot, and you have angered me a lot over the years, but I wish you luck on all of your future endeavours."

Pikachu saluted them before he jumped onto Ash's shoulder and Ash walked away from them.

"He's just walking away..." James muttered in disbelief.

"And we are just letting him..." Jessie realised.

"He has just given us a great idea... I think we can let him keep his Pikachu." Meowth decided.

"You're right, Meowth. It would be rude of us to steal his Pikachu after he had just given us such a great idea." James agreed with his furry friend.

"Forget the twerp, we have money to make!" Jessie declared.

The trio and Ash wouldn't see each other again for a long time.

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**Professor Oak's Laboratory**

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Ash and Pikachu arrived at the professor's lab to tell him about his plans. Hopefully now he would be able to focus on his Pokémon training without having to worry about Team Rocket interfering. Ash found Professor Oak and Tracey in the living room looking over some of the Professor's old sketches and comparing them to some of Tracey's new ones.

"Hello, Ash." The professor greeted Ash when he noticed him enter the room, "What can I do for you today?"

"I'm just here to tell you that I am heading out tomorrow." Ash informed them.

"Already?" Tracey asked surprised, "Where are you going?"

"To the Hoenn region," Ash grinned at him, "there are a lot of Pokémon there that I have never seen before and I want to hurry and experience it all."

"I'm not surprised." The old man chuckled, "I updated your Pokédex back at the Silver Conference so you're up to date there. Which Pokémon will you be taking?"

"Pikachu, of course." Ash grinned.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted and he puffed out his chest.

"I'll also take... Cyndaquil and Totodile." Ash decided, "Also can I have Pidgeot's old Poké Ball?"

"Why do you need it?" Professor Oak asked him curiously.

"I'm going to go visit her and see if she wants to come back." Ash informed him, "I did promise her after all."

"Alright Ash, I'll get your Pokémon sorted." Professor Oak told him and he left the room to go and retrieve the Poké Ball.

"Make sure you tell your mother that you are leaving, Ash." Tracey reminded him. Ash could be quite forgetful after all, especially when he is excited.

"Yeah!" Ash nodded fiercely. His mother would be so mad if he didn't.

After Professor Oak gave him Pidgeot's old Poké Ball, Ash and Pikachu immediately headed out to the forest where he had released Pidgeot.

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**Forest**

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"Pidgeot!" Ash called out as he and Pikachu walked along a thin dirt road surrounded by large trees.

"Chu pika!" Pikachu shouted walking beside Ash.

The two of them had arrived at the forest where Pidgeot was for a few minutes now and still they didn't see any sign of her.

"Do you think that she is still here, Pikachu?" Ash asked his starter worriedly.

Pikachu's ears perked up when he heard the sound of wings beating in the air and he spun around and with extreme excitement, he began pointing to the sky, "Pikachu pi pika!"

Ash spun around and, to his delight, he saw a familiar large bird Pokémon flying eagerly towards him. He heard her chirp happily and she landed gracefully only a few feet from them.

"You're looking stronger than ever, Pidgeot." Ash praised her and he softly petted the side of her neck. For such a tough looking Pokémon, it amazed Ash that her feathers were so soft. Pidgeot responded by biting Ash softly with her beak. Pikachu jumped excitedly onto her back, "Pika pika!"

Pidgeot chirped in reply and Pikachu laughed and not for the first time did Ash wonder what his Pokémon talk about.

A loud amount of chirping suddenly entered Ash's ears and he looked up to see a large flock of Pidgey, Pidgeotto and to Ash surprise, a couple of Pidgeots.

"Do you want to come with me, Pidgeot?" Ash asked her hopefully and he held out her old Poké Ball, "Or do you want to stay with your flock?"

Pidgeot answered by pressing her beak into the button of the Poké Ball, Pikachu quickly had to jump off her and she was sucked into it. The ball wiggled twice before it settled.

"Welcome home, Pidgeot." Ash smiled at the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Pi pika!" Pikachu said happily.

Now Ash realised why the flock of Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot were here, to say goodbye to the one that had protected them from the Fearow and Spearow.

"I'll take good care of her." Ash promised them all.

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**Ash's House**

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Ash had informed his mother of his plans when he got home and she had been upset that he was leaving so soon, but she was very understanding. She knew that he was too adventurous to stay in the one place and Delia had a secret fear because of his adventurous spirit, he would never settle down. Either way, she still had a long time before she had to worry about that.

Ash currently found himself sitting at the phone dialling Brock's number.

"Hello, Harrison residence. This is Brock speaking." The familiar face of Brock appeared in the screen of the video phone.

"Hey, Brock... its Ash," Ash greeted him, "how are you doing?"

"Ash!" Brock said with some excitement, "Good to hear from you. Yeah everything's fine over here except for my mother trying to turn the gym into a water type gym."

"Really?" Ash said surprised, "I take it that you stopped it from happening."

"Yeah," Brock grinned at him, "and now my younger brother Forrest wants to be a rock type Pokémon expert and the gym leader of the Pewter gym."

"That's some big goals." Ash whistled impressed, "Considering that he is your younger brother, there is no doubt he will achieve them."

"Thanks Ash." Brock said appreciatively, "So what's happening on your end? Are you heading off to another region?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah, Pikachu and I are heading off to the Hoenn region tomorrow. I'm also taking Cyndaquil, Totodile and Pidgeot with me."

"Pidgeot's back?" Brock replied in surprise.

"Yeah," Ash grinned at him, "The flock is strong enough now that she wasn't needed. I've told Professor Oak just before I got home that whenever I send Pidgeot back here to let her out so she can go back to the forest. Whenever I need her, he will go and get her."

"That's a good idea." Brock approved, "Pidgeot will be able to get in some good training with its flock."

"That's what I thought." Ash told him, "Any chance you want to come with me to Hoenn?"

"I'd love nothing more to go travelling with you again, but right now I still have some responsibilities to take care of. If I can, I'll meet you somewhere in Hoenn." Brock informed him.

"How will you find me?" Ash asked him.

"I'll contact your mother and Professor Oak to let me know where you are." Brock explained, "Also make sure you keep in contact, you hear? If I can't make it, I still want to hear all about your journey."

"No problem." Ash promised him and then, after a moment's hesitation, Ash asked him a question, "Hey Brock, is travelling with me holding you back from your dream?"

"What? Where is this coming from?" Brock asked in puzzlement.

"It's just something that Gary told me." Ash admitted, "I'm just wondering if you're more focused on helping me than achieving your own dreams."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ash." Brock laughed at him, "Granted you could help out more when it comes to cooking and other chores like that, but I would never give up going on adventures with you unless I didn't have a choice. Being a Breeder is something that I can do until I die of old age but exploring the world is something that I won't be able to do much of when I'm older. Plus I get to meet so many different people and Pokémon and I also learn new methods on treating Pokémon. Plus think of all the beautiful women that are just waiting for me to sweep them off their feet!"

Ash nodded in relief and he couldn't hold back the slight chuckle at Brock's final line, "Well if you do manage to come, I promise to do a bit more concerning cooking and the chores."

Brock nodded, "If I make it, I'll start teaching you how to cook, so when the time comes when you're on your own, you will be prepared."

"Thanks Brock." Ash smiled gratefully at him. He truly was fortunate to have such a good friend. Although Ash considered him more than a friend, he was the big brother that he never had.

Despite only being separated for a few days, Ash and Brock talked on the phone for a while before they finally departed.

The young trainer spent most of the night with his mother, Mr. Mime, Professor Oak and Tracey as they threw a quick going away party for Ash. During the night, Ash promised Professor Oak and Tracey that he intended to catch a few more Pokémon than he usually would and also that he planned to catch types that he hadn't caught before. Also his mother revealed that she had created a new set of clothes for him to wear. The young trainer felt guilty for leaving his mother again so soon, and he assured her that next time he came back home he would at least try to stay for a week, minimum.

It was past midnight when the party ended and Ash lay in his bed with Pikachu sleeping at the top right corner. The young boy couldn't sleep however and he got up carefully, he didn't want to wake Pikachu, and headed over to his desk. He turned on a lamp and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. Ash made a list of all the Pokémon that he had;

Pikachu

Bulbasaur

Charizard

Squirtle

Pidgeot

Kingler

Muk

Tauros x30

Snorlax

Heracross

Bayleef

Cyndaquil

Totodile

Noctowl

Phanpy

Primeape

Ash looked over his list of Pokémon critically and he could see that Gary really was right. Most of his Pokémon really were the speedy powerful type and he didn't have much defensive power in his line up. He also remembered what Gary had said about him relying on Pikachu and Charizard too much and he hated to admit it, but he was correct again. Pikachu was his partner and constant companion and so it was natural for him to use him a lot. Also Charizard was one of his fully evolved Pokémon and with his training at the Charicific Valley, he was easily his strongest Pokémon.

That's why he needed to bring Cyndaquil and Totodile. They needed more training in order for them to evolve. Unlike Bulbasaur and Pikachu, the two of them had never expressed disinterest in evolving and so Ash believed that they just needed more training. Ash figured that Squirtle wouldn't evolve since he is the leader of the Squirtle Squad and he assumed that they must have had some pact not to evolve.

Phanpy was one that he intended to train as well. However Ash decided to let him stay at Professor Oak's for a while, he was still just a baby after all. Ash would let him enjoy being young for a while before picking up his training. He noticed that Phanpy was his only ground type Pokémon and he knew that he would have to catch some ground types when he gets to Hoenn.

Ash looked at the x30 next to Tauros and he grimaced. Looking back he had to wonder what he was thinking back at the Pokémon Swap Meet. He had been offered an Onix, Nidoqueen, Rhyhorn, and even Benny's Wobbuffet, which ended up in Jessie's hands, for his Tauros. He could have given them each a Tauros from the herd, they were just as strong as the one that he used, but for some reason he didn't. That would have given him far more variety to use in the Silver Conference.

Glancing at the others, Ash swore to himself that he would rotate his Pokémon more during his journey in Hoenn and give them all valuable experience.

The next morning after a big breakfast from his mother, Ash bade his mother farewell. He wore the new clothing that she had given him. He now wore a hoodie instead of a jacket, black gloves instead of green and new jeans and sneakers. He had a green backpack, with one pocket and a red Poké Ball design on it. He decided to keep his old hat; after all he had sent about a million postcards in order to win it.

Ash and Pikachu jumped onto Pidgeot's back and she eagerly flew them to Vermilion City where they had to take the boat to Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region.

'_This time,'_ Ash promised himself, _'I will win the league... I will conquer Hoenn!'_

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**End of Chapter**

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**Okay this is a new Pokémon story that has been in my head for a while now but I have been putting it off. First of all, this is in no way connected to my other Pokémon story; Rise of a Legend. Secondly, I have not abandoned that story; in fact the next chapter of that one should be posted by the weekend. **

**When I eventually get up to the Hoenn saga in my Rise of a Legend series, I can promise you all that this will be far different. This story so far is only planned until the end of the Hoenn saga and depending on where I go with it and how well it is responded, I'll consider the Battle Frontier and then Sinnoh.**

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**This will be an Advance Shipping story, but romance won't be a major factor. Also Brock will be travelling with Ash. Two reasons why he will be coming are; he is my favourite character and how the story diverts, I don't see how it affects Brock from coming. However since I am aging up the characters, Ash is 13 in this by the way, that leaves a quandary with Max. I'm aging May to 13 like Ash, but she is three years older than Max, that will make Max 10. That means that Max can become a trainer, so my question is, do you all want Max to be a trainer or should I keep him 7 years old and simply have May being six years older than him than three?**

* * *

**Also I know the moment with Team Rocket was out of character for Ash, but I needed a way for them to not bother with Ash anymore. I really cannot be bothered having them continuously show up and try to steal Pikachu. I hope you like the idea that Ash pointed out concerning Meowth. I mean, they have a talking Pokémon and Meowth is really the only one we have seen. Other from Pokémon using telepathy. So I figured that Team Rocket could use that to their advantage and get rich off it. They will appear again at some point in the story.**


	2. A New Companion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

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**In the first chapter I received 44 reviews, 130 favourites and 138 follows. That is incredible! Thank you to all those that reviewed, favourite-d and followed. I appreciate it immensely.**

**I haven't gone over the chapter just yet, so I apologise for any errors that you find and I will go over it in the next couple of days and fix up the mistakes. So if you see any major errors, please point it out to me.**

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**Stone Badge arc****** – **Chapter 2 – A New Companion**

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Ash sighed in relaxation as he lay on a comfortable blue deck chair with a wide yellow strip down the middle. The weather was perfect. It was shining brightly but it wasn't too hot. It was warm with a nice breeze... the perfect weather, Ash believed. He was currently sailing on a large titanic boat that departed from Vermilion City and headed towards Littleroot Town. The young trainer from Pallet only had a pair of dark green swim trunks on and sitting next to him, on their own desk chair with an exact design to his own, was Pikachu and Cyndaquil. Both were curled up and resting comfortably under the favourable weather. The flames on Cyndaquil's were extinguished as he enjoyed the sun shining down on him. Ash had released Pidgeot from his Poké Ball and the large bird Pokémon was soaring through the sky taking in the beauty of the ocean. The energetic Totodile was currently playing a game of water volleyball with a group of teenagers, both male and female, in the pool that was set up in the middle of the deck. Ash wasn't surprised at how easily Totodile was able to worm himself into the game, the water Pokémon was far too energetic to not get caught up in it.

Ash looked up to see the brown haired captain in a navy uniform walk by with his Machoke following a few feet behind him.

"Excuse me, Captain," Ash asked him politely, "but do you know when we will be reaching Littleroot Town?"

The Captain looked thoughtful for a moment and he answered, "If we keep up this pace, I believe we will arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay," Ash smiled gratefully at the Captain, "thank you."

"Is this your first time heading to the Hoenn region, young man?" The Captain asked the young trainer curiously.

"Yeah it is," Ash said with clear excitement in his voice, "I'm really excited!"

"All by yourself?" The Captain said in some surprise, "Does it not get lonely travelling on your own?"

"Nah," Ash shrugged it off easily, "not when I have my buddy Pikachu here," Ash reached over and gave Pikachu a soft pet on the ear, much to the electric mouse's delight, "and then there is all of my other Pokémon. I'm never alone."

"I see... you and your Pokémon must be very close friends for you to feel that way." The Captain noted with a smile.

The two of them chatted for a little bit before the Captain had his own duties to attend to. Ash smiled and he looked over towards the swimming pool where Totodile had just scored the winning point and he was now dancing around happily only a few feet from him. Suddenly two teenage girls, roughly at the age of sixteen walked past the area where Ash had been sitting and in an instant, Ash felt more confusion that he had ever felt. When they had walked past, Ash noticed that they were very pretty looking and suddenly his eyes instinctively lowered to their chests. One of them had a relatively large chest trapped in a tight looking blue bikini while the other one had a slightly smaller chest. A blush formed on Ash's face and he quickly looked away unfortunately the next thing he saw was another female teen bend over to pick up something and Ash got a good look at her covered yet nicely curved backside.

Somewhere in Pewter City, a dark skinned upcoming Pokémon Breeder suddenly grinned proudly. He had a feeling that his best friend, and little brother figure, was just starting to become a man; finally.

Ash sat up sharply and he raised his hands up to his eyes and he rubbed his face harshly. What on earth was wrong with him? He was suddenly feeling quite hot and it made him uncomfortable.

Ash quickly looked over to Totodile and he called out to the energetic water type, "Totodile, please hit me with Water Gun."

Both Pikachu and Cyndaquil immediately dived off the chair they were sitting on and they scurried over to a spot where they wouldn't get wet. They had no idea why Ash suddenly wanted to get wet on such a nice warm day.

Totodile didn't have any questions on why Ash wanted to get soaked and he eagerly unleashed a torrent of water at Ash. As energetic as he may be, Totodile knew how to hold back enough power to not hurt his beloved master with his Water Gun. Ash barely contained the shriek from the cold of the water he was hit with but once Totodile finished, the tactic seemed to work. He no longer felt all hot and bothered and he would have to remember that in the future if it ever happened again. Although Ash hoped that what just happened would only be a onetime thing.

He glanced around to see many people looking in his direction. Some were looking confused at his actions. A few teenage boys were smirking knowingly while a few male adults gave him sympathetic looks having been in his situation when they were a younger. A few teen girls giggled slightly. The two girls that had walked past him earlier were among them. Apparently Ash hadn't been very discreet when he checked them out.

They boy that had stared down the powerful Mewtwo, fought against the legendary bird Pokémon and had even dressed as a girl, blushed in embarrassment and he quickly headed towards the cafeteria. Totodile, Cyndaquil and Pikachu quickly followed their trainer in confusion.

* * *

**Littleroot Town**

* * *

Just as the Captain had predicted the previous day, the boat arrived safely at the port in Littleroot Town. As Ash gathered up his supplies, he was dressed in the clothes that his mother had made for him. He was able to fit in another two sets in his backpack along with the other necessities. Pikachu was sitting comfortably on his left shoulder, and he had his Poké Balls, which contained his other Pokémon, strapped to his belt.

"Okay buddy, are you ready to begin another adventure?" Ash asked his beloved companion determinedly. The embarrassment that he had felt the previous day was long behind him and he was now focused and excited for the challenge of trying to conquer the Hoenn region.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in equal determination. Just like Ash, he yearned to win a Pokémon League for not only Ash, but for him and his fellow Pokémon. Pikachu felt that he didn't live up to the expectations that Ash expected of him in their last Pokémon League Tournament even though his trainer assured him countless times that he was proud of his performance.

Moments later, Ash stepped off the ramp and onto the cement road of Littleroot Town. He had just taken his first step in the Hoenn region and he felt a thrill run through his body just like when he arrived in the Orange Islands and Johto for the first time. While seeing different kinds of Pokémon and experiencing new Pokémon battles were always his major interest, he also loved the thrill of seeing new locations and new sceneries.

"I think it is time to head out to Professor Birch's laboratory. After everything I have heard about the man from Harrison, I am quite anxious to meet him." Ash said to Pikachu and his partner squeaked in agreement.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked his trainer when Ash didn't move. The young trainer from Pallet glanced at his starting Pokémon with a sheepish grin and he asked, "I don't suppose you know the way, do you?"

The electric mouse just responded with a dull look.

Ash rubbed the back of his head in confusion before he clicked his fingers in realisation, "I know!"

Ash pulled out a Poké Ball from his belt, "We will just fly on Pidgeot and find the laboratory from the sky. It would have to be pretty noticeable, wouldn't it?"

"Pika!"

Only moments later, Pidgeot took to the skies eagerly with her trainer on her back but she had to restrain herself from flying at a fast pace so Ash didn't tighten his hands on her feathers. Just like Ash had predicted, Professor Birch's laboratory was quite easy to spot and Ash noticed that it had many similarities to Professor Oak's lab.

* * *

**Route 101**

* * *

Riding happily towards Professor Birch's lab on her cycle was a 13 year old brunette girl. She wore a red t-shirt with a dark blue circle around her neck, dark blue bike shorts and a white skirt. She also wore red and yellow sneakers, a red bandanna with a white Poké Ball print, a yellow waist pack, and dark-blue and white gloves.

Her name is May and after delaying her Pokémon journey for three years, she was now on her way to Professor Birch's lab in order to get her first Pokémon. May didn't really like Pokémon and she tended to avoid her father's Pokémon but she was really interested in travelling. That brought her to this point in time, in order for her to travel the Hoenn region becoming a Pokémon trainer was the best way to do it.

Just when she was starting to get close to where her father had told her Professor Birch's lab was when she suddenly heard a loud shout for help. May decided to cautiously ride off in the direction that the pleas were coming from and she stopped at the top of a small grassy hill. Looking down she saw a man holding desperately onto a branch and a pack of small grey hyena looking Pokémon and they were all barking angrily at him. May recognised the man since she had known him since she was a child.

"Professor Birch?" May called out to him.

Birch looked up to see May on top of the hill, "Terrific, it's you May! Great timing, please open that bag over there!"

May blinked before she looked to her left and saw a small dark brown bag lying on the grass a few feet from her.

"This one here, right?" May asked him as she approached it.

"Yes! Grab anyone of the Poké Balls inside and hurry!" Birch said urgently.

"That's easier said than done." May said nervously after she opened the bag and she could see three Poké Balls resting on folders in the bag. "Which one do you want?"

"Anyone will do!" Birch shouted hurriedly.

"Okay... this one!" May closed her eyes and she picked up a random one. She immediately threw it into the air and the Pokémon was released from it. Out of the Poké Ball appeared a small amphibious quadruped Pokémon with a blue body and a light-blue underside. It has a large head with a blue fin on top, and a light-blue tail fin. It has black, beady eyes and orange, star-shaped gills on its cheeks.

"Great!" Birch cheered, "It's a Mudkip!"

"That's good," May told him as she watched the little creature shake its head, "now what should I do?"

"Call out one of its attacks!"

"Okay... which is?" May asked him in confusion.

"Just say use Water Gun now!"

May stood up after she had crouched down to the bag and she told Mudkip dully, "Got it, use Water Gun."

The small mud fish Pokémon obeyed the order but not in the way that she had wanted. It simply sprayed her in the face with a torrent of water it had unleashed from its mouth.

"Is that supposed to happen?" May asked in annoyance after she wiped her face.

Birch released a large sigh but unfortunately for him, the branch suddenly gave way under his weight and he fell hard onto the ground. He immediately got up and he began running around as the Poochyena started chasing him.

"Mudkip! This way!" Birch shouted, "Over here!"

Mudkip nodded obediently and it jumped off the hill and onto the ground not far from the Poochyena. Birch ran to its side and he said, "Use Water Gun on the Poochyena!"

"Mud..!" Suddenly the Poochyena looked nervous, "KIP!"

The small fish Pokémon unleashed a torrent of water at the Poochyena trio and the force of the water pushed them back. The moment that they were able to get back up they hurried off.

"Not bad." May commented.

"Thank you, Mudkip." Professor Birch said gratefully and he returned the Hoenn starter Pokémon back into its Poké Ball. The professor then looked up to the cliff where May was standing.

"Thanks for all of your help May." Birch told her sincerely.

"Oh it was nothing!" May waved him off with a large grin.

"You've really grown up since I last saw you, May." Professor Birch acknowledged.

"Professor just what were you doing? Why were you up that tree?" May couldn't help but question him.

Birch rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I was doing some of my research on the Zigzagoons but then I accidentally stumbled on this pack of Poochyena."

"You should be more careful then." May frowned at him.

"I'll keep that in mind." Birch chuckled before he was silenced when he remembered why she was here in the first place, "That's right! You're here for your first Pokémon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." May answered him nervously.

"I'm surprised that I didn't see you three years ago for your first Pokémon." Birch noted curiously.

"I just didn't feel ready enough to go out and travel around the world." May replied, _'Plus I am a lot more tolerant to Pokémon than I was three years ago.' _She thought internally.

"Just let me find a way back up there and I'll officially give you your first Pokémon." Birch told her and he immediately went off to search for a way up the small cliff. It took him five to ten minutes to finally find a way back up and he immediately called out the three Pokémon that he had on him.

One was of course the Mudkip that May had recently called out. She knew that it wasn't the one that she would pick considering that it just sprayed her with a Water Gun moments ago.

Another was a small, green, bipedal reptilian Pokémon. It had yellow eyes with long, narrow pupils and it had a large, dark green tail with two separate lobes. It had a twig in the side of its mouth and it gave her an unimpressed look with its arms folded across its chest. Professor Birch explained that this was the Grass type Pokémon, Treecko. May thought that it was kind of creepy looking.

The final Pokémon that professor released from its Poké Ball was a small, chick Pokémon with stubby, downy, yellow wings. Its body was covered with orange feathers and it had an orange and yellow crest on its head that resembled a flame. Its two thin legs and short beak are a light brownish yellow colour, and its feet have three toes in front and one in the back. Birch explained that this was the Fire type Pokémon, Torchic.

"These are the three starting Pokémon here in the Hoenn region." Professor Birch explained to the young teen, "You can select whichever one that you would like."

"Okay." May said timidly as she looked over the three Pokémon.

"If I may give you some advice May," Birch said carefully, "The best Pokémon that you start with depends on several things. The first and most important thing is that you pick the Pokémon that you feel most comfortable with. That is really important. If there is more than one of them that you feel comfortable with then you have decide which will help you achieve your dreams easier. If you want to take on the Gym challenge, then I would advise you pick either Treecko or Mudkip. However if you want to do something else, then I would go with Torchic. A Fire Pokémon will be a big help to you until you reach Rustboro City. By then you should have other Pokémon to help you."

"So what you're saying is that it will be easier if I started with Torchic?" May asked for clarification.

"If you don't intend to take on the Gyms, then yes, I believe it would." Birch answered her.

May looked at the Torchic thoughtfully when suddenly the little fire Pokémon scurried over to her and began rubbing its head on her leg.

"Well this one is cute. Okay, I'll choose this one." May said happily and she gently lifted up the excited Pokémon.

"Okay now all I have to do is give you a Pokédex." Professor Birch told her after he returned Treecko and Mudkip back into their Poké Balls. He froze however when he couldn't find one in his pockets and he suddenly remembered something incredibly important.

"What's the time?!" Birch demanded to no one in particular and he quickly checked his PokéNav. "Oh! I'm late! This always happens when I work in the field!"

"What's wrong?" May asked him and she returned her Pokémon back into its Poké Ball.

"I forgot my son is starting his journey today as well!" Professor Birch groaned, "I was supposed to be at the lab 20 minutes ago to give him his starting Pokémon. Come on we have to hurry!"

May was impressed at how quickly the professor ran but she was easily able to take over the professor and the two of them hurried to his laboratory.

* * *

**Professor Birch's Lab**

* * *

Ash walked up to the double glass door and on the right side of the wall next to the door was a buzzer. The young trainer from Pallet had returned Pidgeot back into her Poké Ball when she landed and now he and Pikachu were eager to meet Professor Birch. He wondered if he would be anything like Professor Oak or Professor Elm. He hoped he didn't ramble on like Professor Elm did.

Suddenly the glass door shot open and it slammed into his face. Ash yelped in pain and he held his nose tightly, it had taken most of the hit. Fortunately it wasn't bleeding but Ash could feel the instinctive tears form in his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry," Ash opened his eyes to see a boy roughly the same age as him at the door, "I thought you were for my father for a moment and I allowed my frustration to get the better of me."

"Don't worry about it." Ash shrugged him off. He did sound quite apologetic after all.

Wiping away the tears that had built up in his eyes, Ash took notice of the boy in front of him. The boy wore an orange t-shirt that had thick black stripes that covered the bottom part of his torso and separated up to his sleeves. He wore black pants that seemed to be covered by a thicker pair of black shorts that stopped just below his knees. He also wore orange finger-less gloves with green wristbands and he wore the strangest looking hat. It looked like he had white hair that was being held up with a green headband however Ash noticed that he had black sideburns. He also had a green backpack with a single strap that went down from his right shoulder to his left hip.

"Who are you?" the boy inquired.

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town. This is my buddy, Pikachu." Ash introduced and he signalled to his starting Pokémon that was standing a few feet away.

"Pika!" the electric mouse waved.

"I'm Brendan Birch." The fourteen year old boy said.

"So I take it you're Professor Birch's son." Ash assumed.

"That's right." Brendan nodded and with a grumble he added, "I've been waiting for my starting Pokémon for over 20 minutes now. I hate it when he is late to important events."

"You're getting your starting Pokémon?" Ash blinked in confusion, "Why now? Shouldn't you have gotten it a few years ago?"

Brendan smiled easily at the question, "Yeah, I could have got one four years ago but I decided to stick around with my dad and learn about as much about Pokémon as I could. I was content with that. However over the last few months I have desired to go out and battle the Gyms and now I have decided to go out and do it. Did you start when you were ten?"

"Yeah I did." Ash replied.

"What Pokémon did you start with?!" Brendan asked eagerly. He hadn't met many people from the Kanto region, "Since you're from Pallet Town that must mean that you got your starting Pokémon from _the_ Professor Oak! That means a Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander!"

"I would have got one of them if I hadn't of been late the morning that I started my journey." Ash chuckled sheepishly, "However they were all gone and so I started with Pikachu here."

"Pikachu!" The electric mouse unleashed a victory pose.

"I look back on that day and I am thrilled that I was late that day." Ash smiled down at Pikachu, "By being late, I gained the greatest friend that I ever had."

Brendan grinned, he hoped that he and his starting Pokémon formed a bond like the one that Ash and Pikachu had.

"So what brings you to the Hoenn region?" Brendan asked him.

"I came here to compete in the Hoenn League!" Ash said passionately, "I've travelled through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto and now I want to battle in Hoenn. Not to mention all of the sights to see and Pokémon to discover and befriend."

"How did you go in the previous tournaments?" Brendan asked him eagerly.

"I finished in the top 16 in the Indigo Plateau, I won the Orange League and I finished in the top 8 in the Silver Conference." Ash informed him.

Brendan whistled impressed, "That's awesome! I definitely can't wait to battle you in the Ever Grande Conference!"

"The Ever Grande Conference?" Ash murmured, "Is that the Hoenn Championships?"

"That's right! It's the tournament when trainers have got all eight badges!" Brendan said with clear excitement in his voice.

The conversation between Ash and Brendan was cut short when May and Professor Birch came into view. May stopped her bike a few feet from them and she rested it against the wall of the laboratory. Ash and Brendan's attention was momentarily on her rather developed chest before they looked towards the professor, who was panting quite heavily.

"You're late!" Brendan scolded his father, "I've been waiting for ages! How many times have I told you to set up an alarm whenever you go out to learn in the field?!"

"Quite a few times, I recall." Professor Birch said sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I just get so excited that tend to forget things like that."

"Whatever." Brendan smiled fondly, "Just give me my Pokémon, please! I want to finally start my journey!"

"Okay, okay, but first," Professor Birch looked over at the trainer that he had never seen before, "who might you be, young man?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town." Ash introduced himself for the second time today.

Professor Birch's eyes lit up, "So you're the boy that Professor Oak was going on about," The professor's eyes then travelled towards Pikachu, "and this must be Pikachu." Professor Birch approached Pikachu and he gently petted Pikachu under his chin.

"Chu..." Pikachu murmured in delight.

"Professor Oak told you about me?" Ash asked surprised.

May looked on from the side and she observed the two boys before her. She had to admit that she thought that they were kind of cute but the boy with that weird hat really needed to get rid of it. The hat was not good to look at. However she paid more attention to the little electric Pokémon that was getting petted by Professor Birch. Despite her dislike for Pokémon, she couldn't help but find the little Pikachu adorable.

Professor Birch ceased his actions on Pikachu and he looked back at the trainer from Pallet Town, "Yes, he rang me up last night and he told me that you were coming here. He went on about you all night."

"I'll have to talk to him about that." Ash muttered in slight embarrassment.

"Dad!" Brendan whined, "You can talk about this later after you have given me my Pokémon!"

Professor Birch sighed at his impatience. Ash couldn't help but grin. He didn't doubt that he would've been like that 3 years ago. He glanced at the girl standing a few feet away and Ash's curiosity got the best of him.

"Hello." Ash told her politely, "I'm Ash, who are you?"

"I'm May." The girl replied with a small smile.

"Are you here for your first Pokémon?" Ash questioned her with interest.

May held up her Poké Ball, "I got it a few minutes ago."

"Which one did you pick?" Ash couldn't help but ask her.

May smiled and she released her Torchic and Pikachu quickly scurried over when he saw it and the two of them immediately hit it off and began to play with each other.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex with interest and he scanned the Pokémon, "Torchic, the Chick Pokémon. It has a flame sac inside its belly that perpetually burns. It feels warm if it is hugged."

"Torchic, huh?" Ash grinned, "So this is the pre-evolved form of Blaziken." After his battle with Harrison, Ash had studied Blaziken as hard as he could so he would be better prepare the next time he faced one. He wondered for a moment if this is what Gary had been talking about. He didn't do the research before the match; he had just believed that his Charizard would be able to win.

May just nodded, she had no idea what a Blaziken was, after all.

Professor Birch released the remaining two Hoenn starting Pokémon which caught Ash's interest and he quickly scanned the two Pokémon with his Pokédex.

"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokémon. Mudkip uses the sensitive fin on its head to take radar readings of its surroundings."

"Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Treecko are able to climb smooth vertical walls and use their thick tail to attack opponents. Since Treecko build their nests in large trees it is said that those trees will live a very long life."

Treecko was the Pokémon that really caught Ash's attention. He saw it look at Brendan with an indifferent look for a moment before giving him the same one. Ash had to admit, with the indifferent stance and the twig in its mouth, the Grass Pokémon just screamed cool. Ash believed that it was a really strong and proud kind of Pokémon.

"I'll choose Mudkip." Brendan smiled at the water Pokémon. Mudkip grinned up at him in happiness. Brendan knew from that he was going to pick Mudkip from the get go. He had bonded somewhat with Torchic and the previous Treecko but he got along best with Mudkip. Speaking of Treecko, Brendan glanced at the one that his father had just caught a few days ago. Brendan didn't envy the trainer that picked up that Pokémon; it was a mean, proud and stubborn one.

"Okay now that is settled," Professor Birch declared after he handed Mudkip's Poké Ball over to his son, "I can give you and May your Pokédex."

He handed May and Brendan each a red Pokédex, "This device is kind of like a high-tech field guide, where data of Pokémon caught is written automatically."

"Thanks, dad."

"Thank you, Professor."

"It was nice meeting you," Brendan quickly said to May, even though they technically hadn't been introduced, "but I have to go. Nice meeting you too Ash! Bye dad!" With that, Brendan quickly ran home where his bike was so he could head out on his journey.

"That was rude." May puffed out her cheeks angrily. She decided that he wasn't cute at all.

"Sorry about him, he is just too excited to think about his manners." Professor Birch chuckled slightly.

Ash grinned but he was suddenly hit in the stomach by Treecko's tail and he fell painfully to the ground. He held his stomach tightly, and coughed up some saliva. The blow had knocked the air out of him.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled out angrily, "Pikachu pi pika!"

May and Torchic both took a few steps back fearfully and Treecko glanced at Pikachu before looking towards the confused and pained Ash. He couldn't hold back the smirk from appearing on his face. Professor Birch surprisingly didn't say anything and he just watched with interest.

"I see," Ash smirked back, getting to his feet. The pain had started to subside. "You want a battle, don't you?"

Treecko nodded and he turned towards Pikachu and he raised his fists in preparation for the electric mouse's first attack.

"Go Pikachu! Quick Attack!"

Pikachu shot towards Treecko at an incredible speed, much faster than what Treecko had been expecting, and Pikachu slammed his body into Treecko's chest. May and Professor Birch were startled by the speed of the attack. May had even lost sight of the Pikachu for a moment. The grass Hoenn Starter Pokémon crashed painfully into the ground, and he struggled to get back to his feet. It felt like a rocket had just been shot into his chest. It was clear to Ash, and Pikachu, that there was a large gap in strength and speed between the two Pokémon. That was to be expected, Treecko was for beginning trainers after all while Pikachu had years of experience from travelling and training with him. Treecko then tried to hit Pikachu several times with his tail but the electric mouse was far too agile for the Grass Pokémon to land a hit. Judging by the smile on his face, while he constantly jumped or dodged the thick tail, Pikachu clearly enjoyed toying with Treecko.

May looked on with more interest than what she thought she would have and she was amazed at the change in Pikachu. Just moments ago it seemed to be a cute and lovable Pokémon but now it was tough and an amazing battler.

Faster than Treecko could anticipate, Pikachu shot at him, faster than a bullet, it seemed, and rammed him painfully under the chin, sending crashing towards May's bike.

"Use Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"

Pikachu unleashed a large wave of electricity from his cheeks towards Treecko. It wasn't at full power, since Pikachu didn't want to hurt Treecko too badly, but Treecko was just able to dodge it. Unfortunately the electric attack went on to hit May's bike and deep fried it.

"My bike!" May screamed.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ash groaned, '_I hope she isn't like Misty when it comes to her bike.'_

"Pikachu, finish this up with another Quick Attack!" Ash quickly ordered his Pokémon.

Treecko futilely tried to raise a defence, but Pikachu moved far too quickly and this time when Pikachu slammed his body into Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon didn't get back up.

"You did really well." Professor Birch declared, "It was to be expected, of course. You have a strong Pikachu there Ash, just like Professor Oak told me. Also it is hard to believe that it didn't obey you at the beginning."

"The professor told you about that?" Ash asked him in confusion.

"Wait! Pokémon can disobey their trainers?" May piped up.

"Of course they can," Ash told her, "they aren't robots, you know."

"Pokémon have feelings, their own dreams and their own desires. We are still trying to understand the different mysteries about Pokémon, from their feelings to their histories and the hidden legends." Professor Birch explained to May, "I didn't stop your battle with Treecko because of what I learned from Professor Oak about you. For you to get a starter that didn't obey you and then for you to gain its trust in a day, that takes some real skill to do. That is why I wanted you to battle Treecko."

"How does that relate to battling Treecko?" Ash asked him.

"I want you to take Treecko with you and when you battled it, you proved that you were strong enough to Treecko to take it." Professor Birch explained to him, "You see, I caught Treecko on Route 104 a few days ago. It was trying to protect a very old and large tree by itself after the rest of the Treecko had abandoned it. Unfortunately, after I spent a couple of days studying the behaviour of Treecko, the tree died when it suddenly split in two. Treecko desperately tried to fix it and Treecko went days without food in a desperate attempt to heal it but eventually Treecko collapsed in exhaustion. I had to catch it and after a trip to a Pokémon centre, I brought it back here. However it is angry and it didn't want to accept any of my help. I had hoped to give it to a trainer that would be able to break it out of its anger and bitterness but I knew that no beginning trainer would be able to do that."

"Wait a minute!" May cut him off, "If that's the case why did you give me and your son the option of picking him?!"

"I knew that Brendan wouldn't pick him," Professor Birch shrugged, "and if you had picked him, then I would have told you that you would have to wait until I could give you a different Treecko."

"So it really was just a choice between Torchic and Mudkip." May said dully.

"Pretty much." Professor Birch chuckled before he turned his attention back to Ash, "I told Professor Oak about the trouble I was having with Treecko and that is when he told me about you and Pikachu. So I know that you are the perfect person for the job."

"That sounds fine," Ash grinned at him, "I promise that I will help Treecko get over his anger and bitterness!"

Professor Birch smiled and he handed Treecko's Poké Ball over to Ash. The trainer from Pallet returned the unconscious Treecko back to its Poké Ball.

"Treecko isn't hurt too badly." Professor Birch told him and he pulled out a small bottle that said 'Potion' on the label, "Just spray it with this and let it rest for a while and Treecko will be as good as new."

"Thanks Professor." Ash said gratefully.

"Oh and May, before I forget," Professor Birch remembered and he pulled out six empty Poké Balls from his bag, "take these, May. These are your Poké Balls that allow you to capture wild Pokémon."

"Thank you, Professor Birch." May said appreciatively and she put them into her bag.

"Did you remember to give Brendan some Poké Balls?" Ash asked the Professor.

"No I didn't need to. He has a collection of Poké Balls he can use at home. Now you two will have to head to the nearest Pokémon centre that you can find in order to register for the Hoenn League." Professor Birch explained to them. "I believe the closest one is in Oldale Town."

"Okay, thanks." Ash told him.

"Ah!" May sighed loudly and she brought her hands up and rested them on the back of her head, "Walking all that way makes me nervous and my bike was destroyed," May then gave Ash a quick glare, "thanks to your Pikachu." Ash and Pikachu grimaced, "There must be a solution," May pondered, "a way to get to Oldale Town safely on foot... Hey! Why don't we go together? I happen to know the way there. Really Ash, it is no trouble really, shall we?"

"Pika!"

"Well, okay. We'll go together." Ash agreed.

May quickly turned her back to him and with a triumphant grin, she whispered, "Yes!"

Ash and Pikachu just looked confused at her behaviour.

"That is a good idea. You can look out for one another." Professor Birch concurred. "You all be careful out there."

"Don't worry, we will be. Thanks a lot." Ash assured him.

"Pika!"

"See you soon!" May waved to Professor Birch before they headed off.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it then please review it. If you don't like it then don't read it.**

* * *

**Okay in this chapter we got moments where Ash started to notice girls differently. I honestly didn't know how to write a way for Ash to notice girls and to stay in character. After all, he has only actually showed interest in one girl and that was when he saw the picture of Giselle back in the early episodes of season 1. So I just used a personal experience of my own when I first started to notice girls. I hope it was acceptable.**

* * *

**Okay I have had many different reviews concerning Max. Some say I should make him a trainer and others say I should make him 7. There have also been suggestions that I should make Max 9 and then get his starting Pokémon the next year. There have also been requests to not have Max go at all. So how about this, there is a four year age gap between May and Max; 13 and 9. Max will travel with them throughout Hoenn and at the end; he will be old enough to start his own journey. So if I decide to continue this story beyond the Hoenn League, Max will not travel with them through Kanto. Instead he will travel Hoenn again. Sound good? This way with Max being real close to being a trainer he will pay a lot more attention to Ash's battle style and ask him a lot more questions about his battling style. The only question in that scenario is this... would it be better for Brock to go with Max or for him to go with Ash and May through the Battle Frontier? When Max does go off to Hoenn to compete, I won't show much of his journey, maybe just a few scenes here and there. This is mainly an Ash centric story after all.**

* * *

**I have also included Brendan in the story. He won't have a huge role, I just put him in as a way to generate some rivalry for Ash since he doesn't have any until he meets Morrison and by then he has eight badges. Also once Ash gets to the Hoenn League should bring back some of the characters that he fought in previous tournaments such as Ritchie, Jackson etc?**

* * *

**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**C:**__ I do like you making Jessie and James go legit ...I just hope Team Rocket ain't like the mafia were leaving is a really bad idea._

_**R:**__ I won't say much about it yet, but the major Team Rocket organisation will play little to no part in this story. You will see Giovanni's reaction to Jessie, James and Meowth's change in life a bit later on._

_**C:**__ Have May travel with Ash even after the Battle Frontier arc._

_**R:**__ If I do continue to write Ash's Sinnoh journey as a sequel to this is still up in the air. Right now I have no plans to go beyond the Hoenn arc. I want to see the response to this story before I plan too far and I have gotten a great response so far. It will be more likely than not that I will do Sinnoh at this rate._

_**Q:**__ Did the Pokémon Movies happen? If so, will the Latias from the 5th movie show up?_

_**A:**__ Yep, they happened. No, Latias will not show up._

_**Q:**__ Will you be writing the Pokémon movie 6 and up?_

_**A:**__ Movies 6 &amp; 7: __Jirachi: Wish Maker &amp; Destiny Deoxys; I will not be doing. I didn't really like those movies. Movies 8 &amp; 9: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew &amp; Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea; I will be doing._

_**C:**__ Please make ash trade his 29 Tauros._

_**R:**__ He will trade some of them, but I doubt he will be able to trade them all._

_**C:**__ Max is a great way make Ash mature. He is young and impressionable; forcing Ash to become a role model, especially if Brock points it out to him._

_**R:**__ You're right, he would. Max will aspire to a strong trainer like Ash, but it is Brock that takes him under his wing and mentors him. Max figures that he can learn a lot more about 'raising and caring' Pokémon from Brock than Ash._

_**Q:**__ Just out of curiosity, I know you mentioned that Ash and May will not be all lovey dovey, and stuff, but will Ash be a bit less clueless, I mean, it's quite obvious sometimes even in the anime how much May likes Ash, are you maybe going to get into that a bit more than the usual anime does?_

_**A:**__ This will not be an epic love story but yes, Ash will be less dense about things like attraction and stuff like that. As you would have noticed in this chapter, Ash is thirteen and has just began entering a very difficult stage in his life; puberty. Because of that, Ash will be more aware of girls and his feelings towards a select few. _

_**Q:**__ Do you have and update schedule though, just out of curiosity?_

_**A:**__ No, I don't. I'm not reliable with quick updates, I'm afraid. One thing I am trying to do is cut down the time it takes to update. My hope is that I can update this story once or twice a month. Unfortunately with life and other stories, it is quite hard to release regular updates. _

_**Q:**__ if he does, can you have him catch a few of the Pokémon he befriends in the series?_

_**A:**__ When Max becomes a trainer he will definitely catch some of the Pokémon he befriended throughout his journey with Ash and co._

_**Q:**__ Would Max even come with them if he was 10? He's really a very independent kid, and in the beginning at least he seemed like he wouldn't want to follow his sister who is afraid of Pokémon around if he could strike it out on his own._

_**A:**__ You are absolutely correct. That is why I have made Max nine and not eligible to become a Pokémon trainer yet but he will be eligible after the Hoenn League. He is independent but he will learn how much more valuable it is to travel with others._

_**Q:**__ James had that Growlithe didn't he? I mean I suppose that the Pokémon is registered to the parent/adult and it's transferred to the kid after they become 'of age' but... again why didn't Ash or Brock do that? Or May even?_

_**A:**__ Yes, James did have a Growlithe. The writers of the show simply didn't want to make Max a trainer nor give him his own Pokémon but the idea will definitely pop up in this story._

_**Q:**__ Why is it that most Hoenn re-writes are Advanceshipping?_

_**A:**__ I think the main issue about the Advance series is that they don't introduce any real female characters that connect with Ash at all until Anabel in the Battle Frontier. Since May is the only female that really connects with Ash throughout Hoenn and that is why she is usually chosen._

_**Q:**__ Can't he just stay at the Gym and be trained to be the Leader of it or something? Or do you have some form of plan for his character... other than being Ash's cheerleader that is?_

_**A:**__ Yeah I have plans for him and I am going to develop him a lot more than in canon._


	3. Becoming a Mentor

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

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**I am so sorry about the lengthy time between updates. I had a major case of writer's block on this story. I have a new schedule for my updates, so check it out on my profile.**

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**Stone Badge arc****** – **Chapter 3 – Becoming a Mentor**

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Ash was starting to think that he was becoming a bad person.

It had been around mid morning when he and Pikachu set out for Oldale Town with their new friend, May. According to her, they should reach Oldale Town by sunset if they kept up a decent pace. Ash had released Treecko from his Poké Ball and he used the potion to heal the Grass Pokémon's injuries. When they stopped for lunch, Treecko was much more content to sit up on a branch on his own and at first Ash thought he was just preferred to be alone. However, according to his Pokédex, Treeckos liked sitting high up on tree branches, so Ash also took that under consideration.

It wasn't the slight problems that he had with Treecko that made him think that he was a bad person, no; it was something to do with May. There were a few times where his eyes would wander to her ample chest and his face would heat up slightly. Also there were a couple of times that he had deliberately slowed his walk so he could get a glimpse of her backside. He really was a terrible person. He thought about calling his mom and telling her about this but he felt ashamed to do so and embarrassed. Ash resolved to ask Brock about this, if there was anyone that could understand what he was doing, it was Brock. Unknown to the young trainer from Pallet Town, May was doing the exact same thing to him.

"Hey, Ash can I ask you something that's been on my mind for a while?" May asked him.

Ash looked back slightly; May was only trailing behind him by a few feet. Pikachu was slightly ahead of them both and he was eagerly checking out the trees and bushes.

"Go ahead." Ash easily answered.

"I thought all Pokémon stayed inside of their Poké Balls, so why doesn't Pikachu?"

Ash smiled at her, "You'll find out throughout your journey that you will come across a lot of Pokémon with different personalities. Pikachu is one of the few Pokémon that I have seen that detests being in a Poké Ball and so I am happy for him to always stay out and remain with me."

"That's amazing!" May said in awe and she pulled out her Poké Ball that contained her Torchic, "I haven't had any problems with my Torchic yet. Come to think of it, I don't really know anything about this Torchic."

"Why don't you check it out with your Pokédex? That will give you some basic information about Torchic." Ash recommended.

May frowned at him, "I already heard your Pokédex give you information about Torchic."

"Since I don't actually own Torchic, I was only given the basic information about it." Ash informed her, "However since you own that Torchic, your Pokédex has much more detailed information about it."

"What kind of information?" May questioned him curiously.

"Check it out for yourself. You will learn a lot more discovering things yourself than me giving you all the answers. I've had to learn that the hard way over the last few years." Ash pointed out.

May pulled out her Pokédex and she looked up her Torchic's information.

"Her moves are Peck, Growl and Ember and she has an ability known as Blaze." May read out loud before she lowered the gadget and she looked at Ash curiously, "What is Blaze?"

"It's a move that powers up the Fire type attacks of your Torchic." Ash replied, "It should have more information about Blaze in your Pokédex but from what I understand, a Pokémon can only activate Blaze is certain situations."

"That sounds neat!" May smiled widely however her attention to her Pokédex died quickly after she noticed a small Pokémon run onto the dirt path. Ash looked at the Pokémon with curiosity and Pikachu quickly stepped in front of Ash and he prepared to battle. The Pokémon that stood in front of them is a round, blue mouse Pokémon. Its thin, black, zigzagging tail has a large blue ball at the end. There are two white dots on its cheeks, and it has black eyes.

May used her Pokédex to scan it, "Azurill, the Polka Dot Pokémon; Azurill is able to throw its tail like a lasso, using the momentum to move about."

"It's so cute! I want it!" May declared passionately.

"Then try and catch it." Ash suggested.

"Okay," May grinned in excitement, "I'll just grab me a Poké Ball and throw it!" Ash's eyes widened when May simply threw an empty Poké Ball at the Azurill. The Polka Dot Pokémon was sucked into the Poké Ball and May cheered at the success of catching her first Pokémon.

'_Perhaps this won't be as hard as I thought it would be.'_ May thought happily, "Oh yeah! I caught my first Pokémon!"

Ash just frowned and watched with his arms folded across his chest as the Azurill broke out of the Poké Ball.

"Hey!" May protested, "What gives?!"

"You're not going to catch anything that way, May." Ash informed her with a hint of fondness in his voice. He couldn't help but think back to when he first started his journey and the first couple of attempts to catch a Pokémon. He used to think back on this with embarrassment but now he realised that he wasn't the only one that didn't really know what he was doing when he first started.

"What do you mean?!" May snapped at him, "I threw a Poké Ball at it, didn't I?!"

"You only throw your Poké Ball after you battle and weaken the Pokémon." Ash lectured her calmly.

"I see... then it is time for a Pokémon battle!" May declared and she quickly released Torchic from the confines of her Poké Ball, "Now what were those attacks again?" May mused out loud.

Torchic didn't wait for May's order and she took it upon herself to charge towards the water Pokémon. The Azurill simply bounced out of the way and Torchic ran straight into a tree.

"Torchic!" May shouted worriedly.

Torchic brushed off the pain and she determinedly ran after the Azurill and May quickly followed.

"Was I this bad, Pikachu?" Ash couldn't help question his beloved starter.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu nodded sympathetically.

"I suppose we should go after her." Ash decided and he hurried after his new companion. Pikachu was right on his heels.

When Ash finally caught up with May, he was surprised to see a Marill and an Azumarill alongside the Azurill and they were glaring at Torchic and May.

"This is bad..!" Ash frowned, "Pikachu quick help Torchic out with a Thunderbolt!"

Unfortunately Ash didn't give the order in time and Torchic was hit with a Water Gun from all three of the Marill family. She was instantly knocked out.

The electric mouse quickly launched his powerful electric attack which forced the trio of Water Pokémon to flee hastily by jumping into the small pond behind them.

"Torchic!" May hurried over to her fallen Pokémon and she cradled her softly to her chest, "Are you okay?!"

"Calm down, May." Ash assured her and he pulled out a small bottle of potion out of his bag. He knelt down next to her and sprayed Torchic with the medicine. "That should do it," Ash promised her, "a potion will fix up the more serious damage. We'll let Nurse Joy do the rest."

"Well what are we waiting for?" May asked him, cradling Torchic to her chest, "Let's hurry."

* * *

**Pokémon Centre – 6:00pm**

* * *

Like Ash had thought, Torchic's injuries weren't serious and Nurse Joy informed them that all the Fire type Pokémon needed was a good night's sleep. Earlier when they had been running to the Pokémon Centre in Oldale Town, they ran into an archaeologist, Professor Alden outside of the Oldale Ruins. He was the one that guided them to the Pokémon Centre in Oldale Town.

With Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash intended to do something that he had never really done before and that was to go talk to the other trainers. In his previous journey's, he just stuck with Brock and Misty but now he had to start mixing it up with some other trainers. Thinking that he could just catch wild Pokémon and training them up wasn't going to be sufficient to win a league, he understood that now. So, he was far more open to the prospect of trading Pokémon. Perhaps that is why Gary caught so many Pokémon, even the ones that he already had, in order to trade them for Pokémon that he couldn't find. If that was the case, then right now the only Pokémon that he was open to trading were his Tauros. Although he was more open to the idea of trading Pokémon, he wasn't sure if he had it in him to simply catch a Pokémon for the purpose of trading it later. All of the Pokémon that he had caught, with the exception of the 29 extra Tauros, he had bonded with them. He only caught the other Tauros because for some strange reason they would intercept every Safari Ball that he threw at another Pokémon.

"Hey, Ash?"

Ash turned around to see his new brunette haired friend with her hands behind her back and she looked at him with a curious look on her face, "Yeah, what's up?" he asked her.

"I was thinking... now that I am in a Pokémon Centre, will you show me around?"

"Yeah, of course," Ash answered her, he could go converse with the other trainers a little later, "but I need to make a call first."

A few seconds later, Ash sat on a chair in front of a video phone with May peering over his shoulder. "Hey, Professor Oak," Ash greeted the old professor when he appeared on screen, "I'm just letting you know that I have made it to Oldale Town."

"That's wonderful, Ash." The professor smiled pleasantly at the young trainer, "Have you managed to catch any new Pokémon over there in Hoenn?"

"Technically," Ash admitted delicately, "I got a Treecko that Professor Birch had already captured after it challenged me and Pikachu to a battle."

"Sounds interesting," Professor Oak noted with interest, "I'd love the chance to study a Treecko; I don't know much about them after all."

Ash nodded, "I'll send him to you at some point. Also I have registered for the Hoenn league, so I'm ready to go and psyched for my first badge."

"It sounds like it's going to be another big adventure for you, young man."

"That's right," May shoved a disgruntled Ash aside with a large grin on her face, "we haven't met yet but I'm May!"

"Hello there, May." The professor acknowledged her, "I'm Professor Samuel Oak from Pallet Town."

"I know who you are!" May surprised him, "My brother never misses any of your radio lectures and when I tell him that I have actually been talking to you, he will be so jealous!"

"Wow, how nice..." The professor didn't really know what to say to that.

"I know I am just a beginning Pokémon Trainer but I promise you, I will work hard!" May firmly informed him.

"Well, May, with Ash by your side, you should do quite well." Professor Oak replied, "I wish you both a safe and successful journey."

"Thanks!" the two trainers said in unison before the call ended.

"Okay, let's go." Ash stood up, "I'll show you around."

The first place he showed her was the bedrooms, which consisted of two bunk beds, and then he led her to the lobby. The lobby was mainly open space, with long grey couches spread out throughout the room and there were also several computers for trainers to use. There was even a Pokémon Transfer machine. There were quite a few people in the room currently.

"This is the lobby," Ash explained, "this is where the trainers staying here share information."

"Really?!" May gasped happily, "You mean like where the best malls are, where the best places to eat are, where the best clothing stores are and other things like that?!"

"Not exactly. It is mainly stuff to do with Pokémon. They can also trade Pokémon with each other or agree to battle each other here." Ash informed her.

"I heard that there is a new Gym Leader over at the Petalburg Gym!" One of the trainers said loudly, and Ash and May couldn't help but overhear.

"Hey!" Ash hurried over to the three people that were talking, "Can you tell me who the new Gym Leader is?!"

Ash never got to know the answer just yet as May had hurried over to him and she pulled him away, exclaiming that she was starving. Ash conceded to her for now and they headed off to the cafeteria.

* * *

**The Next Morning – 8:00am**

* * *

It had been quite the ordeal last night, Ash thought after he finished getting ready. During dinner last night, they had met Professor Alden again and he had shown them what he had been working on at the Oldale Ruins. He was searching for some ancient Pokémon that he believed were still in the ruins someplace. Unfortunately the nice evening ended when the Pokémon Centre was taken over by a group of people that went by the name Team Magma. They were after Professor Alden in order to get into the ruins and unfortunately Ash couldn't stop them since he didn't want to risk battling inside the Pokémon Centre.

In the end, Team Magma had cut the power to the centre and Ash, May and Nurse Joy was locked in the storage room. They had also cut the power so they were all quite worried about the sick Pokémon. Fortunately they were able to find a vent that they could crawl through and once they were free, Ash went to find the master key to unlock the storage room and May put the power back on. With the Pokémon Centre safe, Ash and May hurried towards the Oldale Ruins where Team Magma had taken Alden to. However they discover that Team Magma had already left after finding nothing and they had abandoned the orbs that they had obtained for the Oldale Ruins after having no more use for them. Alden reveals that he duped Team Magma and he used the orbs to discover the location of the ancient Pokémon, Relicanth. Ash resisted the urge to capture one in respect towards Professor Alden.

'_Another organisation up to no good.'_ Ash thought in aggravation. It seemed that there were these organisations in every region. Nurse Joy had told him all she knew about Team Magma which wasn't much but Ash knew that he would have to be wary of them. The young trainer from Pallet Town looked across the room to where May slept. She slept on the top of the other bunk bed and Ash could see that she was still sound asleep, with a bit of drool leaking out of her mouth. Ash figured that she must really find the bed comfortable.

Seeing that his trainer was up and ready, Pikachu happily jumped onto his shoulder and they left the room quietly. Ash headed off towards the lobby and was delighted to see that it was quite busy. There were at least eight people in the room.

"You wanted to know about the Gym Leader last night, right?" A pretty girl with long dark hair asked him after he entered the lobby. Ash could tell that she was a couple of years older than him, she wore a yellow shirt and a blue skirt, and Ash swiftly noticed that her chest was roughly the same size as May's.

Ash blinked in confusion for a moment before he realised that she was one of the people that he tried to talk to last night, "That's right."

"He goes by the name of Norman," The girl informed him kindly, "he is a very strong trainer that is rumoured to almost be Elite Four level."

"That strong?!" Ash gaped with wide eyes. He would have to avoid battling that Gym Leader right now, although he would have to pass through Petalburg, so maybe he could battle this Norman strictly to test how strong he was.

"I take it you're a Pokémon Trainer," The girl asked him and Ash nodded, "I would advise against battling him until you have at least four badges."

"Thanks for the advice." Ash said gratefully.

"Now I have a question for you." The girl asked him quickly.

"Go ahead." Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any large and powerful Pokémon that is capable of moving heavy objects?"

Ash thought of Charizard, Pidgeot, Snorlax and his thirty Tauros. "Yeah, I have a few." Judging by the happy look that suddenly appeared on her face, Ash assumed that she liked the answer, but he didn't understand why.

Just then a sad looking blonde hair teen boy, roughly the same age as the girl Ash was talking to, approached her and he said, "Did you have any luck, Amy?"

"Yeah, I did!" Amy told him happily. "This boy can help you!"

"Help with what?"

"Pika?" The electric mouse tilted his head in confusion.

"My name is Charles, a former Pokémon Trainer." The boy introduced himself unhappily, "To make a long story short, my father runs a farm that has been in our family for generations and he is come down with a severe illness. I need to quit my journey and go run the farm but I need to find some strong and big Pokémon that can help me out. Unfortunately I haven't been a trainer for very long and I haven't been able to catch any uncommon Pokémon that people are interested in trading with. All I have is an Electrike and Poochyena left to trade but since they are pretty easy to find and catch, nobody will trade for them. I don't suppose you might be interested?" The boy looked at him with a light hopeful expression, but Ash could see that he was already ready for the rejection.

Naturally Ash's first instinct was to reject the offer especially hearing that the two Pokémon on offer were easy to find but he couldn't help but sympathise with the boy. He knew that if his mother came down with a severe illness, he would quit his journey immediately and head home to help look after her. Although he knew that this might just be a trick in order to gain stronger Pokémon but fortunately for Ash, he wouldn't really lose anything if he agreed.

"For all I know, you are simply making this up in order to gain stronger Pokémon." Ash replied bluntly, folding his arms across his chest.

Charles sighed miserably and his shoulders slumped slightly, "Yeah, I know. Many people have told me that."

"The good thing for you is that I have thirty Tauros and so even if you are cheating me, it won't have a huge impact." Ash smirked at him and the boy brightened. "Is two Tauros acceptable for those Pokémon?"

"Yes, thank you!" Charles bowed gratefully, a large smile on his face. "I'll go get my Pokémon from Nurse Joy."

Ash nodded, "I have to get my Tauros transferred over to here." Ash watched the teen boy run off to find Nurse Joy.

"Thank you, it really means a lot to him. I know we don't know each other but I promise you that he is telling the truth." Amy told Ash sincerely.

"Don't mention it," Ash shrugged, "I need a more variety of Pokémon anyway and this will save me time searching for those two specific Pokémon." The young trainer from Pallet had decided that these two Pokémon would be useful pickups. Ash and Pikachu had discussed catching another Electric type Pokémon as Ash relied too much on Pikachu. When they are in the Pokémon League, his opposition can easily come up with a strategy to counter Pikachu, as they didn't have to worry about any other Electric types plus he wanted to use Pikachu as little as possible in his Gym battles. As for Poochyena, he didn't have a Dark type Pokémon and he thought that it would be a good place to start.

"How old are you?" Amy suddenly asked him, "12, 13?"

"I'm 13 years old." Ash answered her confused at the sudden question.

"Let me give you some advice," Amy smiled at him mischievously, "If you want to avoid offending girls and risk getting slapped, don't check out their breasts when they are talking to you." Amy gave him a wink before leaving the room.

Ash blushed furiously in embarrassment whilst Pikachu sniggered on his shoulder.

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**End of Chapter**

**If you like it, then review it. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

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**Next Chapter – 27****th**** of September**

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**Answering the Readers:**

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_**Q: **__Will Ash catch a Mudkip and a Torchic so he can get the 3 starters instead than just one? And, I believe you missed Primeape in the first chapter when Ash made the list. Will he make an appearance in your story?_

_**A:**__ There is a possibility that he will catch a Torchic and Mudkip. I haven't ruled it out but don't be shocked if he doesn't. I deliberately left Primeape out for now. At the moment, Ash believes that he released Primeape. He might make an appearance in this story. _

_**Q:**__ Would you consider having Ash catch a Trapinch and have it become a Flygon? And is there any chance that good ole Jigglypuff can make a few appearances?_

_**A:**__ I'm still organising the Pokémon that Ash will catch in this story but there is roughly an 85% chance of Ash catching a Trapinch. As for Jigglypuff, no I don't have any plans for it to appear but you never know, my muse might make it happen._

_**Q:**__ I got to ask, is Lucario gonna die in this like in the movie?_

_**A:**__ I'm not revealing anything about Lucario's fate._

_**Q:**__ Any chance of throwing out a line about Cynthia early? Maybe explore the slight friendship he had with Lance? Maybe go into depth about why Gary said all of it to him? Any chance of an early Paul show up?_

_**A:**__ Sorry but Cynthia won't be in this story. As for Lance, yes I will explore their friendship later on. You will read about Gary's thoughts about why he said those things to Ash later on. Paul won't be in this story either, sorry. _

_**Q:**__ Would like to know if Milotic will be on Ash's team since it can tank pretty well. Also will ash do contests?_

_**A:**__ There is a chance that Ash will get a Milotic but it is a slim one. No, Ash won't be interested in competing in contests, except for once or twice, just to test it out._

_**Q:**__ Is Ash going to get slapped a lot in this and is Brock going to give him The Talk?_

_**A:**__ Fortunately for Ash, he will take on Amy's advice very seriously so he will be able to avoid the dreaded slaps but he might slip up once or twice. As for Brock giving him the Talk, there is a very strong possibility that Brock will have to have a serious discussion with Ash later on._

_**Q:**__ So will Ash capture any Legendary Pokémon? Finally will Ash catch a Bagon, Beldum or both, since I think it would be great if Ash had a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in his Hoenn team?_

_**A:**__ No, Ash will not catch any Legendary Pokémon. There are tons of stories where Ash gets Legendary Pokémon and so I want to avoid doing it. He will get a Pseudo-Legendary though._

_**Q:**__ Do you have any of Ash's future non-canon Pokémon planned out, or is that going to be a "make it up as you go" sort of thing?_

_**A:**__ A bit of both, to be honest. I have a few that he will definitely catch and I am still open about the other Pokémon that he will catch. I want Ash to catch a minimum of ten other Pokémon outside of his canon ones._

_**Q:**__ Now a question, is your update schedule once a month?_

_**A:**__ From this point onwards, it's about every 6 weeks._

_**Q:**__ Will both Ash and May caught more Pokémon than what they have in canon?_

_**A:**__ Yes, they will._


	4. There's no Place like Hoenn

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

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**Here is my friend code = 2681-0201-6497 for all those that want to add me to open up more options in the friend safari!**

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**Stone Badge arc****** – **Chapter 4 – There's No Place Like Hoenn**

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They weren't very far away from Petalburg City, much to Ash's delight and to May's nervousness. Ash noticed how nervous she was the closer they got to the city but every time he brought it up, May refused to answer and she immediately changed the subject. Ash didn't try to get an answer out of her as he believed that she would tell him when she was ready. He was much more focused on the two new Pokémon that he had acquired via trade. It was hard for him to believe that he had only been in the Hoenn region for a couple of days and he already had three new Pokémon. He had been forced to send Totodile back to Professor Oak's in order to fit in the new Pokémon that he had acquired. There was something that he needed to do with Pidgeot and once that was done then he would send her to Professor Oak's and he would get Totodile back.

Speaking of those two Pokémon, the both of them were currently out of their Poké Balls and along with Pikachu they were exploring the area around them. Electrike, Ash could already see, was a hyper active and playful Pokémon as he watched her bark playfully at everything that amused her. Poor Pikachu was having a hard time keeping up with her and making sure that she stayed on route. Ash figured that she didn't get much time outside of her Poké Ball with her last trainer. Poochyena, on the other hand, was very different to Electrike. He merely glanced around with interest but he kept within a few feet of Ash, like a dutiful dog keen on protecting his master.

"You really like keeping your Pokémon outside of their Poké Balls, don't you?" May questioned him curiously as she walked a few feet behind him. The brunette had to admit that she was startled by how protective that Poochyena had become of Ash. Earlier this morning when she had met up with Ash, he revealed to her that he had traded two of his Tauros for an Electrike and a Poochyena an hour before she got there. When he showed them to her, Poochyena gave her a slight growl when she approached Ash, causing her to back off slightly, but Ash just knelt down and patted the canine-like Pokémon softly on his head. He assured him that she was a friend. From there, May had no more problems with Poochyena but she did receive wary glances.

"Yeah, it's something that I promised to do more of in this journey." Ash looked back at her with a grin, "Does it bother you?"

"Not at all!" May answered him, hastily. "There is one thing that is bothering me though and that is why you traded those two large Pokémon?" Ash had shown her the Pokémon that he had traded with his Pokédex and May wondered why he had traded such tough looking Pokémon.

"That's because I still have 28 of them." Ash answered easily, "I fully intend to trade most of them away. They deserve better than to just run around in the same field for the rest of their lives."

"That makes sense, I guess." May muttered.

"Besides I have hit the jackpot with these two Pokémon." Ash grinned down at Poochyena when he saw the canine-like Pokémon puff out his chest after hearing his words.

"What do you mean?" May tilted her head cutely in confusion.

Ash quickly brushed aside the thought of May being cute. He had been thinking that ever since he had met her and it was beginning to frustrate him. The thought would just pop up in his head randomly. Ash held up his Pokédex, "I was just checking over Electrike's and Poochyena's skill set and I discovered that they both have several egg moves." He informed her with a large grin on his face.

"What are egg moves?"

"That was my question to Brock once," Ash smiled fondly in remembrance, "to put it simply, it's moves that a Pokémon is born with. A Pokémon can inherit the moves of its parents and depending on whom its parents were a Pokémon can inherit moves that it would otherwise be unable to learn. Although, it can also know a move that it wouldn't know until later when they are more experienced. Like I was saying earlier, I hit the jackpot with these Pokémon and I will use Poochyena as an example to explain why. According to my Pokédex, Poochyena knows Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, and Ice Fang. That means that one of his parents must have been an Arbok, Snubbull or a Granbull."

"Again, how do you know that?"

"That answer is still the same, May." Ash informed her patiently, "My Pokédex. When you catch a Pokémon, you will not believe how much information is accessed in your Pokédex. As for knowing about egg moves and how they are done, I learned all of that from my friend Brock who inspires to be the world's best Pokémon Breeder."

"I see," May muttered, "do the Pokémon's parents need to know the move for the offspring to inherit?"

"I'm not sure," Ash admitted with a frown, he never asked Brock that question, "I would assume so. It doesn't make much sense for a Pokémon to inherit a move from its parent if said parent didn't know the move in the first place."

Their conversation suddenly ended when they heard Electrike barking happily at the end of the road and Pikachu was waving them over cheerfully. Ash quickly ran ahead, with Poochyena right on his heels.

"It's Petalburg City!" Ash shouted happily when he reached the end of the road. They were currently on a large hill and he could see the whole city from his position. Pikachu eagerly jumped onto his shoulder and joined in at admiring the sight.

"Do you mind explaining what the big fat rush is, Ash?" May asked annoyed at the sudden change in pace.

"I found out that the Gym Leader at Petalburg City's name is Norman and it is rumoured that he is almost as strong as an Elite Four member!" Ash told her excitedly and he ran towards the city, ignoring her pleas for them to slow down.

* * *

It didn't take them long to arrive at Petalburg City but they didn't immediately head straight to the Gym and instead they stopped at a small playground to rest for a little while. Ash – who had already returned Poochyena and Electrike to their Poké Balls – Pikachu and May all sat on individual cylinder shaped seats right next to the playground.

"So Petalburg Gym is a big deal, is it?" May asked him softly.

"Yeah, usually when you complete a Gym then you get a Badge. Once you collect all eight then you can compete in the Ever Grande Conference." Ash explained, "Although if the rumours are true about this Norman's strength, then I don't have much chance with the Pokémon that I have with me. Pikachu, Pidgeot... and maybe Cyndaquil can hopefully give this guy a good fight. However I think the chance to fight someone near Elite Four level would be good training."

"That sounds great, I guess." May replied unenthusiastically.

"Considering how enthusiastic you are," Ash drawled sarcastically, "I take it that you're not interested in competing in the Hoenn League?"

"It's not really my thing." May confessed.

"Then what do you want to do?" Ash inquired curiously.

"Honestly," May sighed, "I don't really have a goal. I just want to travel and explore different places."

"Fair enough," Ash nodded, not everyone had a goal like he did when starting their journey. "I'm sure you will discover what you want to do eventually and when the time comes, I'll help you achieve it."

"Thanks, Ash." May smiled at him gratefully with a blush on her face and she couldn't quite meet his eyes but Ash didn't understand what that meant.

"I wonder what this Gym Leader is like." Ash changed the subject by pondering out loud.

"I'm sure he is a nice guy." May assured him.

"What?! May, do you know him?!" Ash demanded to know.

"Me?!" May asked startled, "I don't really know him that well. The word on the street is that he is very kind and also very strong and of course I have heard that he is really handsome and a really great man." For some reason while she was saying this, she stood up and began doing different poses. Ash didn't understand why she did this but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed watching her.

"It sounds like you know him pretty well." Ash told her.

"I don't really know him that well." May said nervously.

"Then you should come with me and we can meet him together." Ash offered.

"I can't." May quickly shot down that idea. The brunette couldn't allow her parents to see her walk into the Gym with a boy. Her mother would take it the wrong way, her mother would tease her mercilessly and her father would get all protective. It would be better for her to meet them alone and explain why she was with him.

"Why not?" Ash asked her with a frown.

"Well, you see..." May began as she walked off, "There are things I have to go do. Later Ash!" May waved before running off leaving a flabbergasted Ash.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu waved back happily.

"That was weird." Ash muttered.

Ash didn't spend much time on thinking where May had gone as he was much more interested in the battle he was going to have with the Petalburg Gym Leader. He entered the Gym with Pikachu on his shoulder but when he found the hall with the battlefield, it was empty.

"Hello!" Ash called out, "I'm here for a Gym battle!"

"Can you please keep it down." An annoyed voice came from behind him and Ash turned to see a small boy in a green shirt, green and brown sneakers, black glasses and brown shorts. "I am trying to watch a tape of the Silver Conference." The boy's eyes suddenly widened when he noticed the trainer, "It's you!" the boy shouted pointing his right index finger at the older teen.

"Me?"

"You competed in the Silver Conference!" The boy yelled.

"That's right." Ash said with a cocky smirk.

"You lost in the second round!"

Ash bowed his head in despair at the reminder and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder in the process to form the same position as his trainer.

"Wait your name is..." The boy hesitated for a moment, "is Alf!"

Ash fell to his knees.

"Pikachu." The electric rodent muttered worriedly.

"That's your Pikachu!" The boy shouted and he quickly hugged the startled Electric Pokémon tightly. "Hi there Pikachu! My name's Max!" The boy named Max kept his hold on Pikachu and he looked over at Ash, "I watched you compete in the Silver Conference and I have been watching the tapes I made of it ever since! You made it all the way to the second round but then you got knocked by Harrison's Blaziken and that was the end of you!"

"Do you really have to bring up that battle?" Ash groaned, "I competed in some other great battles."

"I know your battles were totally awesome! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Your Charizard completely dominated Gary Oak but your battle between your Charizard and Harrison's Blaziken was really cool. Both Pokémon just kept taking one attack after another and they kept getting back up! I guess Charizard just couldn't handle it. If you had to do over again, don't you think you would have used Charizard's attacks more effectively? If I had been in there, I would have won it. You still have a long way to go!"

"Hold it, kid," Ash bluntly retorted, "Its one thing to watch it on the television and one thing to actually battle."

"So do I detect sour grapes?" Max asked smugly, "Yep, you've got some nerve coming here after losing in round 2."

Normally Ash would have exploded with rage by now, but he understood now that he needed to keep his emotions under better check. He wasn't going to give this kid the satisfaction of getting under his skin. The brat had no idea what he was talking about.

"I'm not interested in talking about this," Ash declared through gritted teeth, struggling to suppress his anger at the boy's arrogance. "I'm here to battle the Gym Leader!"

"That's me." Max informed him with a smirk.

"Huh?"

"Pika?" The electric rodent and his trainer muttered dully.

"That's right! The Petalburg Gym Leader is yours truly! Ta-da!" Max boasted proudly.

"Yeah, right." Ash scoffed at him.

"What! You think I'm not good enough?!" Max retorted angrily.

"That's not it." Ash said calmly, suddenly feeling satisfied that in the end, he was the one that got under Max's skin. "I already know that the Gym Leader's name is Norman. That clearly isn't you and besides it doesn't matter how smart or naturally talented a kid is... no one under ten years old could be a Gym Leader."

"I just turned nine a couple of weeks ago! I'll be ten soon!" Max told him sharply.

"Since you're nine that means you're not qualified to be a Pokémon Trainer and thus you cannot be a Gym Leader." Ash smirked in victory.

Max was too startled to answer. Pikachu looked dully up at his trainer, feeling embarrassed that Ash was so pleased with outsmarting a kid four years younger than him.

"Hey, Max, what are you doing?" A voice outside of the building called out causing Max and Ash to look outside the window to see May.

"Uh, hey sis." Max greeted her sheepishly.

"Your sister?!" Ash said incredulously.

"Well then, who do we have here?" A man that had similar colour to Max appeared on May's left and Ash assumed that he must be Max's father... and May's apparently.

"Hello." A woman that looked a lot like May appeared on her right.

"What is going on?" Ash muttered confused.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were all sitting on the benches in the corner of the battlefield hall.

"Ash this is my mother and my father," May gestured to her parents

"Please to meet you, I'm Norman." Norman greeted him with his arms folded across his chest.

"And I'm Caroline." May's mother introduced herself pleasantly with her hands in her lap.

"This is my little brother." May slapped her brother on the shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, we've met." Ash smirked slightly.

"You see, my dad is the real leader of the Petalburg Gym!" Max declared proudly.

"That's right." Norman nodded.

"So... Petalburg City is where you come from May?" Ash asked her with narrowed eyes, wondering why she didn't just tell him that.

"Why... um... yes!" May chuckled sheepishly.

"We really appreciate you bringing May all the way home." Caroline said gratefully.

"Oh, sure but I really didn't do anything." Ash said humbly.

"Mum, dad, this is the guy that lost in the second round of the Silver Conference!" Max informed them excitedly. "His name is Alf!"

"My name is Ash." Ash retorted softly.

"May, dear, what happened to you bike?" Caroline asked her daughter.

"Um... well, you see, mum..." May tried to explain nervously, slightly worried at her parents reaction about her bike getting destroyed.

"We're really sorry," Ash and Pikachu bowed their heads apologetically at Norman, Caroline and May. "Pikachu accidentally destroyed it in a battle."

"Pikachu, pi pika." The electric rodent apologised.

"It's not a big deal," Norman assured him, "bikes are replaceable."

"And walking is better for your health anyway." Caroline pointed out.

Ash found some amusement when Norman requested to see the Pokémon that May had received from Professor Birch and she released her Torchic from the confines of her Poké Ball. Max wasn't impressed with her selection saying that she should have chosen a Treecko. Torchic didn't take that too kindly and she began pecking him everywhere she could causing Max to cry out in pain. When the amusing scene died down, Caroline invited Ash and Pikachu to lunch which they graciously accepted.

"May tells me that you have been travelling for a long time." Caroline said to Ash during lunch.

"Yeah, I have been to a lot of places." Ash grinned, picking up a roast beef sandwich.

"I wish I could travel too." Max whined softly.

"Have you travelled all alone?" Caroline inquired curiously.

"Actually I travelled with some of my best friends, and Pikachu, of course." Ash answered her.

"Pikachu!"

"That's good." Norman approved, "Travelling with others is always so much easier."

"And it's a lot more fun too." Ash grinned.

"I wish I could travel with my buddies that would be great." Max wished.

"Dad, Ash would like to have a Gym battle with you." May informed her father.

"I hope that is okay." Ash requested of Norman.

"That's fine, Ash. How many Badges have you won so far?" Norman asked him.

"This will be my first one."

"So you're just starting out." Norman observed.

"That won't do Ash." Max smirked at him, "My dad is the best Gym Leader ever!" The young boy boasted, "Only trainers that have earned at least four Badges are allowed to battle him!"

"Is that true?" Ash asked him.

"Technically, it is." Norman answered, "But it is more of a recommendation. I'm more than happy to have a battle with you, if you wish."

"Really?!" Ash asked in excitement, "Is a one on one battle alright with you?"

"That sounds fine to me." Norman agreed.

"That's nice of you, Norman." Caroline smiled at her husband.

"It won't be an official Gym battle as the rules are three on three." Norman explained.

"That's okay!" Ash said in delight, "I really appreciate it!"

* * *

Norman and Ash stood on the opposite sides of the battlefield while May, Caroline and Max were sitting on the sidelines.

"Okay Vigoroth, I choose you!" Norman shouted and he released his Pokémon onto the battlefield. The Pokémon that entered the battlefield was a white, sloth-like, bipedal Pokémon with a teardrop-shaped tuft of red fur on his forehead. He has stubby ears, two small, triangular visible teeth in each jaw, and large eyes encircled by brown rings. The two stripes on his back and maw are also brown. His arms are long, and his hands and feet have two sharp black claws.

Ash quickly pulled out his Pokédex, "Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokémon. Vigoroth is only comfortable going berserk. Will destroy anything in its path by spinning both arms, and goes more berserk when done."

'_I wonder what kind of moves this Vigoroth is going to use.'_ Ash thought with a frown. "Okay, then I choose, Pidgeot!"

Ash released the bird Pokémon onto the battlefield for the first time since he competed in the Indigo League.

"That Pidgeot is beautiful!" May gasped at the sight of Ash's bird Pokémon.

"Pidgeot doesn't have a chance against dad's Vigoroth!" Max declared.

"You can have the first move, Ash!" Norman offered.

"Pidgeot, use Quick Attack!" Ash didn't hesitate to accept the offer.

The large avian like bird shot towards the Vigoroth at a speed greater than Ash remembered.

"Dodge it, Vigoroth and retaliate with a Flamethrower!" Norman countered quickly.

To Ash's frustration, Vigoroth jumped to the left and he avoided the Quick Attack. The wild monkey Pokémon quickly spun around and released a jet of flames from his mouth and it smashed into Pidgeot's back. Pidgeot chirped painfully from the heat of the flames and she crashed onto the floor.

"Get back into the air, Pidgeot!" Ash ordered swiftly. There had been a major concern when he took Pidgeot back and that was the rustiness they both had. Apart from the battle against the Fearow, Ash actually had never used Pidgeot in a battle. Not to mention, Pidgeot had most likely only fought against Flying type Pokémon and so she would be rusty against other types.

"Use Slash, Vigoroth!"

Vigoroth's claws in its right paw extended slightly before they were enveloped in a white light and he struck Pidgeot's back. The force caused Pidgeot to stagger but she managed to maintain upright before she quickly took flight.

"Try a Whirlwind, Pidgeot!"

"Flamethrower, Vigoroth!"

The wild monkey Pokémon unleashed another torrent of flames from his mouth up at Pidgeot and the Flying type Pokémon quickly countered by flapping her winds fiercely, creating a powerful wind. Unfortunately for Ash, when the wind clashed with the fire, it seemed to enhance the fire and the flames enveloped Pidgeot.

Pidgeot dropped towards the floor, burns covering her body but before she collided with the floor, the Flying type Pokémon managed to recover and pull up just in time. Judging by her ruffled appearance and black scorch marks on her body; Ash knew that she had been burned.

"Fire another Flamethrower, Vigoroth!"

"Double Team, Pidgeot and then follow up with a Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot created multiple clones of herself and Vigoroth fired the Flamethrower through two of them but he wasn't able to hit the right one. The Pidgeot clones moved in and Vigoroth was hit in the back of his head by the real Pidgeot's wing. Vigoroth stumbled forward by the force of the blow.

"Now use Quick Attack!"

Pidgeot slammed into Vigoroth's back and she sent the wild monkey Pokémon sailing a few feet through the air before landing painfully on the ground.

"Vigoroth!" Norman shouted out in concern.

"I didn't think that they had a chance against your dad's Vigoroth." Caroline commented in surprise.

"Wow! Ash is good, huh!" May said in amazement. Just a few seconds ago she thought the fight was over when Pidgeot was hit by that powerful Flamethrower but now Ash was suddenly in full control.

"Of course he is good." Max retorted, "He did finish in the top eight in the Silver Conference, after all."

"I think that it is time to finish this." Ash smirked, it was time that he used the attack that Pidgeot had learned in her time among the other Pidgeotto. "Finish this with a Hyper Beam, Pidgeot!"

Pidgeot gathered a ball of golden energy in between her beaks and she unleashed the powerful beam of energy straight at Vigoroth.

"Use Protect, Vigoroth!"

Vigoroth got to his feet as the powerful beam of energy approached him rapidly and he quickly summoned a green sphere force field that surrounded him. The beam clashed against the shield but the force field didn't buckle under the power of the Hyper Beam.

"Vigoroth could use Protect?!" Ash said stunned. This was bad. Ash knew that Pidgeot would be completely open for the next attack.

"Sorry Ash," Norman smiled over at him, "but I am afraid this is the end. Vigoroth, use Thunderbolt!"

Ash's eyes widened in horror.

Pidgeot could do nothing but be enveloped by the powerful electric attack.

"It looks like that's it." Max grinned widely at the sight of his father's victory.

"He was doing so well." May said somewhat sad to see Ash lose.

"He put up a good fight," Caroline acknowledged, "your father is just a bit too experienced for him right now."

"This isn't over just yet." Ash informed Norman. He was right as Pidgeot slowly stood back up after falling to the ground from the electric attack. "Can you keep fighting, Pidgeot?"

Pidgeot chirped loudly in agreement and she began to slowly fly back into the air.

"How is that possible?!" Max shouted in disbelief. "Pidgeot took a direct attack from a Thunderbolt!"

"I'm not surprised." Norman grinned at Ash and he overheard his son's question, "There is a major difference in power when an electric Pokémon uses an Electric type attack compared to some other type using an Electric type attack. It's the same with the Flamethrowers from earlier." The leader of the Gym then focused back on the battle, "Vigoroth fire off another Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it with Agility, Pidgeot!" Ash shouted.

Pidgeot was able to avoid the electric attack thanks to her impressive speed through the air but Ash could tell she was still very much hampered by the earlier damage.

"Now hit Vigoroth with a Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot shot towards Vigoroth and she attempted to smack him with her wing.

"Use Protect once again, Vigoroth!"

Pidgeot's wing slammed into the green shield that suddenly appeared before Vigoroth.

"Grab Pidgeot, Vigoroth!"

The shield shattered and Pidgeot staggered back. The sudden change in tactic startled Pidgeot long enough for Vigoroth to wrap his arms around the Flying type Pokémon to stop it from flying. Pidgeot tried to break out relentlessly but the grip Vigoroth had on her was far too powerful.

"Now use Thunder!"

"Pidgeot!" Ash called out helplessly but he couldn't do anything as Vigoroth and Pidgeot were enveloped in a powerful burst of electricity. Once Vigoroth ceased the attack, he released Pidgeot from his grasp and the Flying type Pokémon collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

"I think that's it." Norman called the match.

Ash returned Pidgeot back into her Poké Ball after gratefully thanking her for her efforts. He looked over at Norman, "That Vigoroth of yours is really powerful, Norman." Ash complimented. He looked down at Pikachu, "There are some strong Pokémon here in the Hoenn region, isn't there, Pikachu?"

"Pika, pika." The electric rodent nodded in agreement. He didn't even know if he could have defeated that Vigoroth.

"Dad was so awesome!" Max cheered his father's victory. His father was unbeatable.

Ash was disappointed that he lost the match but he learned a lot from it and he remember what Gary had told him. The trainer from Pallet Town could finally understand what Gary was talking about thanks to that battle with Norman. Off the top of his head, not one of his Pokémon knew the move Protect. He would need to do something about that.

* * *

**The Next Morning – 6:30am**

* * *

"I guess it is time for you two to take off. Have you packed everything, May?" Caroline questioned her daughter. Ash, May and her parents all stood in front of the Petalburg Gym. May's parents had kindly allowed Ash to use the spare room the previous night.

"Don't worry, Mum." May tried to assure her.

"Since you don't know anything about Pokémon, May," Max suddenly appeared at Ash's side, with a yellow backpack, "I should go too."

Ash, Pikachu and May were all surprised at the demand.

Norman nodded and he told May, "Your brother does know a lot about Pokémon, he may be a big help to you."

"And a lot less worry for me." Caroline added happily. She had been extremely nervous about May going on a journey considering how little she knew about Pokémon. Max would help her in that regard.

"Ash, would it be too much of a bother if Max travelled with you and May?" Norman asked the boy from Pallet. Norman thought it would be a great idea to send Max along, as while he liked Ash, he needed to make sure that he didn't touch his daughter inappropriately. He could still remember what it was like turning that age. Max would keep an eye out and report anything to him.

"It's fine with me, the more the merrier, I say." Ash answered him honestly.

"Pikachu!" The electric rodent agreed.

"Thanks, Ash." May said gratefully.

"This is going to be awesome!" Max said happily.

"Here, I have something to give the both of you." Norman told Ash and May and he held out two thin silver cases. "A Badge case to holding your winning Badges."

Ash and May accepted them.

"Thank you, Norman!" Ash said gratefully, "This is great!"

"Pika!"

Norman than held out a small yellow device, "And son, this is for you."

"For me? Really?!" Max took the device from his father, happily.

"What's that?" Ash asked him curiously.

"It's a PokéNav, I have been wanting one!" Max exclaimed.

"With one of those, you will always know where you are." Norman informed them.

"I promise to take good care of it!" Max promised and the young boy began walking off, eager to start the journey.

"I would suggest you travel to Rustboro City in order to get your first Gym Badge." Norman suggested.

"Okay, thank you." Ash replied sincerely as he and May began walking away.

"Bye, mum, bye dad!" May waved to her parents.

"You all take care!" Caroline called out.

"Look out for each other and also make sure you do your best!" Norman yelled.

"We will!" Ash and May yelled back.

Now that Max was tagging along, the trio, plus Pikachu, headed towards Rustboro City for Ash's first Gym battle.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it then please review it. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

* * *

**I'm sure Brock, an aspiring Pokémon Breeder, would have told Ash about the egg moves that Pokémon can inherit from their parents off screen sometime. I've also made the Pokédex contain more information that what canon shows, I figured that a trainer would be given huge access to information through their Pokédex.**

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**Next Chapter – 9****th**** of November**

* * *

**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**C: **__I am also wondering if you'll allow max to have his own Pokémon, like in X/Y with bonnie._

_**R:**__ It's a possibility. It would make sense for him to get one early._

_**Q:**__ At some point in the future, do you plan on having either Ash or May trying to act on their attraction to each other?_

_**A:**__ Yeah, definitely. It will be more May showing affection than Ash as she will understand how she feels towards Ash a lot quicker than he realises his feelings towards her._

_**Q:**__ Have you ever considered the idea of May asking Ash to trade Pikachu for one of her Pokémon and then have Ash get offended?_

_**A:**__ Not Pikachu. May will recognise the strong bond between Ash and Pikachu soon, so she won't try to come between that. However there is the possibility she might request a trade with one of his other Pokémon._

_**Q:**__ When you get to the part with Kelly, maybe you could have her be sort of a romantic rival for May. Maybe have them both vying for Ash's attention?_

_**A:**__ I can't really remember the episodes with Kelly. If you know which ones they are, could you let me know? I will need to watch them before answering that question._

_**Q: **__You said already that May will be getting more Pokémon here than in the anime, how many do you plan on giving her?_

_**A:**__ Roughly 10, like you suggested._

_**Q: **__Are you gonna have Ash catching all of the common Hoenn Pokémon?_

_**A: **__No, he would then have far too many Pokémon. Plus I wouldn't rule out him catching any Kanto or Johto Pokémon._

_**Q:**__ Will Jessie still take part in contests?_

_**A:**__ Yes, she will. Also she will start displaying the skill towards it much quicker than she did in canon._

_**Q:**__ Will ash get a feebas/beldem/bagon/a fairy type/Eevee (evolve it into sylveon)?_

_**A:**__ He will get one of those Pokémon._

_**Q:**__ Will may get some more Pokémon?_

_**A:**__ Yes she will. Probably between 3 – 6 extra Pokémon._

_**Q:**__ Will May be less gullible regarding Harley?_

_**A:**__ No, she won't be at first. Although Ash will catch onto Harley's schemes much faster than in canon._

_**Q:**__ Will Drew compete with Ash over May's affections?_

_**A:**__ Somewhat. This story isn't going to descend into a massive war for May's heart or anything. Ash, May and Drew all have their own dreams that they want to fulfil, so romance is a secondary objective._

_**Q:**__ Will Ash learn to use aura?_

_**A:**__ Not in this story, no. Perhaps if I do some sequels, he might._

_**Q:**__ Will Ash have his Treecko, when it evolved into Sceptile, mega evolve?_

_So is there a chance Mega Evolutions will appear?_

_Will you add Mega Evolution like they're going to in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and if you are, is Ash going to get some Mega Stones and a Mega Bangle?_

_**A:**__ There will be Mega Evolution, yes. Will Ash use a Sceptile mega evolution... there is a high possibility. _

_**Q:**__ Will Ash get an Eevee?_

_**A:**__ There is a chance that he will get one._

_**Q:**__ Will Pikachu evolve into Raichu?_

_**A:**__ No, he won't._

_**Q:**__ Will Team Aqua/Magma still have a role?_

_**A:**__ Definitely. They still have a big role to play._

_**Q:**__ Any idea of what to do with the third movie maybe?_

_**A:**__ Third movie in the Pokémon movie collection? Or do you mean the third movie in the advanced series?_

_**Q:**__ When Ash sees the contest battles will he be avidly watching? I imagine it be good insight into another battle style as well as provide much inspiration for combination moves like combing quick attack with Iron tail._

_**A:**__ You're absolutely correct. At first he won't think much of a contest, but he will soon use that as a good way to come up with some new combinations._

_**Q:**__ Also if Jessie, James, and Meowth went legit does that mean they won't lose Arbok and Weezing but still get their other Pokémon?_

_**A:**__ Yes, they will get their canon Pokémon and they will keep Arbok and Weezing. _

_**Q:**__ Will Ash catch a Larvitar?_

_**A:**__ It's a possibility._

_**Q:**__ Will there be any OC members of team Magma or Aqua that are higher than grunts?_

_**A:**__ I will use the anime and the upcoming games for their characters. If I there aren't enough shown in the anime and games, then I will create some._

_**Q:**__ Is any of Pokémon that ash release or left to train such as Primeape and Pidgeot coming back?_

_**A:**__ He has got Pidgeot back. Primeape has a chance to return in this story but I can't make any promises._

_**Q:**__ Will-Misty-be-in-this-story-an-will-she-be-jealous-of-May?_

_**A:**__ I have no intention to bring Misty in this story; however I may change my mind down the line._

_**Q:**__ Say, when Ash heads back to Kanto for the Battle Frontier, will he visit his Pidgeot when he gets the chance?_

_**A:**__ He already has Pidgeot back in his team._

_**Q:**__ Could this kid's farm be a part of the Miltank farm? If so this real boon for Ash he might get a discount on their milk for this kindness._

_**A:**__ You're on the right track. Ash's kindness will be repaid at some point. _

_**Q:**__ Does the Pokémon world not have porn or anything like that? It seems a bit odd to me that Ash doesn't know what/why he's staring at May's breasts and ass..._

_**A:**__ It does however Ash is just completely ignorant of it all. All his life he has had a single minded goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. He hasn't even considered anything outside of it. Brock will straighten Ash out when he comes back._

_**Q:**__ Norman isn't as strong as an elite four member and I'm pretty sure that Ash can defeats him with his current team and will this fic have a sequel too?_

_**A:**__ He is rumoured to be __**almost**__ as strong as an elite four member. I had Ash do a one on one battle with Norman to show his rustiness at using Pidgeot, it doesn't help that he had only used Pidgeot in one battle prior to this._

_**Q:**__ Can I make suggestion for some Pokémon for Ash?_

_**A:**__ I'm always happy to hear suggestions for Pokémon that Ash should catch. I have had a look at the list you recommended and I can tell you that you are eon the mark of Pokémon that Ash may catch._


	5. Reunited

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

**This chapter was initially posted as Chapter 6 but I deleted the Authors Note that took up Chapter 5.**

* * *

**Sorry but it's late and I haven't proofread this chapter. So I apologise for any errors in the chapter. I will fix it up tomorrow night. If any of you spot any very noticeable errors, please point them out to me.**

* * *

**Stone Badge arc****** – **Chapter 5 – Reunited**

* * *

Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea that they had allowed Max to come, Ash thought tiredly as he, Max and May walked through the forest on the way to Rustboro City. Ash found out pretty quickly that Max could talk a lot and he continued to express his disappointment in the fact that he hadn't seen a single Pokémon so far. He also knew how to get under May's skin and Ash had to put up with their bickering. He wondered if he would be like them if he had a sibling.

Currently the two of them were bickering about what they wanted to do. Max wanted to continue looking for some Pokémon and May wanted to take a break and eat. In the end Ash had to decide.

"That's enough!" Ash snapped firmly, immediately quieting the two siblings, "We will take a quick break and then we will continue our way to Rustboro. We will likely run into some Pokémon the deeper into the forest we go."

"Yeah!" Max cheered.

"That sounds good to me!" May smiled happily.

Ash didn't have a clue on what just happened. One second they were arguing like crazy and the next they were happy at his choice. He glanced at his electric companion on his shoulder to see that Pikachu was holding his ears down, obviously trying to block out their bickering and the two of them shared a confused look.

A few minutes later, they conveniently found three large boulders together to sit on and have some lunch. Ash believed that these boulders were deliberately placed here as resting place for travellers. It wasn't a big, fancy lunch, they just had some sandwiches to eat and they were lucky that they had them as Ash almost forgot to take them before they left Petalburg City.

Just when Max was about to eat one of his chocolate biscuits that he had, much to the jealously of Ash and May, a quick blue bird swooped in and snatched it up.

"Hey!" Max shouted angrily as they watched the bird fly up onto a branch and it happily at the biscuit. Max's disappointment didn't last long as he finally realised what had just taken his biscuit. It was a Pokémon, more specifically...

"A Taillow!" Max exclaimed in delight at the sight of the common bird Pokémon that originated in the Hoenn region.

Ash observed the bird Pokémon with interest, taking in the exotic dark blue feathers and Ash figured that it must be roughly the same height as a Pidgey. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon before him, "Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Taillow has a fierce personality, never backing down, even against the most powerful opponents."

"That sounds like my kind of Pokémon." Ash smirked. Granted he knew that he would be catching a Pokémon that fell into his usual pattern that Gary had pointed out, but a Pokémon that never backed down were hard to come by and Ash was determined to catch this one.

"Hey, look up there!" May interrupted Ash before he could have a chance to battle the Taillow. She pointed up in the tree just a few feet away from the one that Taillow currently and Ash noticed a bunch of apples hanging from the branches.

"An apple tree... I guess it would be a good idea to stock up on some fruit. We have pretty much eaten all that we had just a few minutes ago." Ash admitted sheepishly.

It wasn't the best idea that he had. The moment that he realised his mistake, it was already too late. When they had hurried over to the tree and attempted to grab some of the fruit, they were surrounded by a flock of Taillow.

"They looked angry." May said nervously, the look in their eyes scared her.

"We must have entered their territory." Max explained, feeling just as nervous as his big sister.

"That explains why we haven't seen any Pokémon since we entered the forest." Ash acknowledged, "They all know to stay clear of this area out of fear of being attacked by a flock of Taillow. By trying to take their fruit, we have made them angry."

"Pika!" The electric mouse's cheeks sparkled with electricity, and he glared up at the surrounding flock of bird Pokémon.

"What should we do?" May asked the experienced trainer.

"I guess we could try apologising." Ash suggested, "But I don't think that it will do much good. There is really only one option." In that moment, the Taillow all swooped down towards them, and May shouted fearfully, "Ash, can't you do something?!"

Ash quickly retaliated, "Pikachu hit them with a Thunder!"

Pikachu unleashed his most powerful electric attack but he had to spread it out in order to hit all of the Taillows and all of the bird Pokémon fell to the grass.

"That showed them!" Max cheered in delight, "Your Pikachu is really strong Ash!"

"That was a close one." May let out a sigh of relief.

Ash wasn't so sure and his doubts proved to be correct when all of the Taillows got back up without any difficulty. The only thing that Pikachu's attack did was anger the Taillows.

"That's impossible!" Max shouted in denial, "Electric attacks are super effective against Flying type Pokémon!"

"Yeah, in a one on one fight it is." Ash replied, "It's not as simple when it is one Electric Pokémon against a whole flock. Fortunately, Pikachu has some help." Ash quickly released Electrike from her Poké Ball, "Pikachu use Thunder again! Electrike, use Thunderbolt!"

This time the flock of tails were hit by a combined electric attack from the Electric Pokémon but again, it didn't have enough strength to take them all down. A couple didn't get back up, but the rest of them didn't look that fazed by the electric attack. The Taillow from earlier, the one that had stolen Max's biscuit swooped quickly down towards Pikachu and Electrike immediately pushed Pikachu to the side and she was struck by Taillow's Quick Attack.

Ash quickly glanced around to see that the rest of the Taillow were all hovering back. Ash assumed that they were all awaiting orders from a specific Taillow and Ash guessed that it was the one that just hit Electrike with a Quick Attack.

"That one must be the leader." May stated on the same wave length as Ash.

Knowing that this Taillow was the leader gave Ash an idea. "Hit that Taillow with an Electro Ball, Electrike!"

Electrike quickly formed a ball of electricity in her mouth and she fired it straight into Taillow when it charged towards her again. Taillow fell towards the ground from the impact of the attack but just at the last moment, it gathered itself and swopped back into the air.

"What a tough Pokémon." Ash grinned up at the Taillow. That electric attack had done some severe damage to Taillow, and yet it still wasn't giving up. Unfortunately, the rest of the Taillow weren't keen on just observing and they swooped towards them all again. Just before Pikachu and Electrike could unleash another electric attack, a familiar voice cut them off.

"Forretress, Explosion!"

All the Ash, May and Max saw was a large explosion in front of them and they were all blown back. They picked themselves up off the ground, and Ash's eyes widened when he saw the person that had helped them out.

"Brock!"

"Hey," Brock greeted his old friend with a smile, "It's been a while."

There wasn't any time for proper greetings, unfortunately, as the attack from Forretress had blown away all of the Taillow. However they wouldn't be gone long and they needed to get to a safer place. With that in mind, Brock led them out of the forest to a riverbank.

"We'll be much safer outside of the forest." Brock informed them after he led them to his campsite, "Hopefully we are no longer in their territory."

"Thanks for your help, Brock." Ash said gratefully. "It wasn't looking to good for us for a little while there."

"You should really thank Forretress." Brock admitted. His Pokémon had hurt himself when he used Explosion. He would have to give him a few super potions to heal his wounds. Brock knelt down in front of Pikachu and Electrike, "It's nice to see you again, Pikachu."

"Pika!" The electric mouse replied happily.

"Hello there, Electrike," Brock greeted the new Pokémon, "I'm Brock."

Electrike barked cheerfully in return and Brock noticed a bruise on Electrike's side, "It seems you were hurt, little one." The upcoming Pokémon Breeder gave the bruise a quick spray from a super potion and Electrike flinched a little as the bruise stung.

"How did you find us anyway, Brock?" Ash asked him curiously.

"When I reached Littleroot Town, I contacted Professor Oak and he told me that you were in Petalburg City. So I caught a ride to Petalburg and then I immediately headed out into the woods, hoping that I would run into you." Brock answered him, standing back up.

"I'm glad you're back." Ash grinned, and he signalled to his two companions, "This is May and her brother, Max from Petalburg City. This is my friend Brock; he is training to become the world's best Pokémon Breeder."

"Hi, there." May greeted him softly.

"Hey, Brock. Nice to meet you," Max cheerfully addressed the older teen, "its cool being a Breeder, huh?!"

"Yeah, but I still have a lot to learn though." Brock replied, "It's nice to meet you both."

Ash clapped Brock on the shoulder, "When I met Brock he was the Pewter City's Gym Leader."

"Wow, you were?!" Max said in awe. He was extremely interested in meeting other Gym Leaders since he aspired to be one just like his dad.

"Hey, cool." May smiled, "Our dad is a Gym Leader, too."

"May and Max's father is the Gym Leader at the Petalburg City." Ash informed the older teen.

"I bet you guys want to be Gym Leaders too." Brock assumed.

"I don't know about that." May admitted.

"I don't even own my first Pokémon yet." Max said sadly, looking down at the ground.

"Don't worry about it, Max." Brock placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It will happen before you know it. How old are you Max?"

"I turned nine not too long ago." Max replied.

"Just think of it like this then," Brock offered, "by the time Ash finishes the Ever Grande Conference, you will be ten years old. You can use this journey to learn about Pokémon as much as you can. Not many people get the chance to explore a region before they are eligible to receive a Pokémon."

Max nodded in understanding, a bright smile formed on his face.

Brock looked back at Ash, "That's why I left most of my Pokémon at home. To give my brother and sisters the chance to practise before they can start their own Pokémon journeys."

"That's a good idea." Ash nodded.

"Is it true what Ash told us?" May suddenly asked him, remembering that Ash had told her that his friend Brock is a great cook, "That you are a really good cook. Then how about a little sample?"

"We just had lunch!" Max shouted at his older sister, "How can you possibly be hungry?"

"I guess being scared of those Taillows made me hungry again." May giggled sheepishly.

"I can understand that," Ash grinned at her, "because I've gotten hungry again too."

'_You cannot be serious!'_ Brock despaired, _'There is two of them!'_

Misty, fortunately, didn't have a huge appetite so he never struggled in preparing her meals, but cooking for Ash had always been bothersome because of how much he could eat. Now it looked like he would have to deal with cooking for not only Ash but also someone that seemed to have a similar appetite to his friend.

"I guess I will make us some lunch then."

While Brock cooked them up some stew, the others kicked back and relaxed. After a few minutes of peaceful quietness, Max decided to bring up the question that had been bugging him and Ash promised to explain earlier.

"Hey Ash... why wasn't Pikachu and Electrike able to take down that whole flock of Flying type Pokémon? You said that you would explain it." Max asked the trainer from Pallet Town.

"Brock can explain it better than I can." Ash replied, looking over at Brock stirring the stew.

"It's not that complicated." Brock informed the young boy honestly, his eyes never once looking away from the stew, "Do you know what the difference is between the moves Thundershock, Thunderbolt and Thunder are?"

"Thunder is the strongest but it isn't as accurate as the other two. Thunderbolt is also stronger than Thundershock." Max quickly stated.

"Is that so?" May murmured indifferently.

"That's right, but do you know _why _Thunder is the strongest?" Brock stressed, and Max shook his head. "When it comes to Electric attacks, it all depends on how many volts the target is hit with that determine its strength. Like with Fire attacks, the more heat that the flame has, the stronger it is and the more pressure in a Water attack, the more damage it does. I'll use Pikachu as an example, whenever he uses a Thunder attack; he is unleashing much more volts through the attack than with a Thunderbolt. However the downside to this is that the attack becomes harder to control which makes it easier for the opposition to dodge the attack."

"I think I get it, but that doesn't explain why all of the Taillow didn't get knocked out from the attack. It was Pikachu's strongest attack!" Max exclaimed.

"Like I said, it isn't that complicated." Brock finally turned to face the boy, a smile on his face. "In order for Pikachu to hit all of the Taillow with his Thunder, he had to spread the attack out which meant each Taillow had been hit with much less volts than they would have if the attack only hit one of them. Considering how many of them there were, I would guess that each Taillow was hit by the amount of volts that makes up a Thundershock attack. If Pikachu had used Thunder on just one of the Taillow, there was no way it would have gotten back up." Brock looked back at the stew and he realised that he needed some more fire and he turned to Ash, "Can you go get some more firewood?"

"Yeah, sure." Ash nodded and he turned to Pikachu. The electric mouse was sitting against the boulder he had been sitting on, munching lightly on some of the Pokémon food that Brock had made. "We're going to have to pick up your training with how much you eat."

Pikachu just gave him a quick glare, and his cheeks sparkled warningly.

"I'll come with you." May quickly stood up and she walked over to Ash. The trainer from Pallet Town blinked in confusion for a moment, but he didn't try to stop her.

Once they walked into the forest, far away enough not to be overheard, Ash asked her, "Why did you want to come with me? It doesn't take two people to gather the amount of firewood that Brock needs."

"I could see the look on Max's face, that's why." May bluntly answered, "The look on his face when he is going to asks thousands of questions about Pokémon. I've seen that look so many times whenever he and dad talk about Pokémon."

"You don't sound like you're interested in Pokémon, that much." Ash observed confused. When he was Max's age, he would go over to Professor Oak's and talk about Pokémon as much as he could with the elderly professor.

"To be honest," May hesitated for a moment, unsure on how Ash would react to the truth, "I used to not like Pokémon but becoming a Pokémon Trainer was the perfect excuse for me to be able to travel the world."

"Used to?" Ash glanced at her with an eyebrow raised, noticing the past tense.

"My opinion of them has changed over the last few days. Ever since I met you, Pikachu and Torchic." May answered him with a bright smile on her face.

"I'm sorry." Ash suddenly apologised out of the blue, making May frown in puzzlement.

"Sorry for what?" May wondered.

"I've been going on about Pokémon ever since I met you, not even realising that you didn't like hearing about it." Ash said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head.

May gave him a reassuring smile, "No, it's okay. I actually enjoy listening to you talk about Pokémon." The young girl released a small giggle at his perplexed look, "Unlike Max, you don't talk as if you know absolutely everything and that you're never wrong. Most of all, you don't talk to me like I am and idiot, like Max does. Hearing the love and passion you have for Pokémon has helped me appreciate them more."

A faint blush appeared on Ash's face, "Geez, that's awfully kind of you, May, thanks." Ash said appreciatively.

May was surprised to see a light blush appear on his face and it distracted her enough to not see the tree root sticking out of the ground in front of her. Her toe stubbed on it causing her to fall forward but an arm quickly wrapped around her waist to stop her from falling. May glanced to her left to see that Ash had caught her and she quickly hoisted herself back up, placing a hand on his chest.

Ash had reacted on instinct when he saw her stumble. May probably wouldn't have fallen to the ground but that didn't matter. He noted for a split second that if it was Misty, then he would haven't done what he was about to do. He quickly wrapped his right arm around her waist to keep her steady. When she straightened up and placed a hand on his chest, he felt his heart skip a beat and he suddenly realised how close their faces were to each other. Ash had a sudden urge to lower his head towards her, but he quickly resisted and he took a step back, releasing her waist. He couldn't meet her eyes for a moment.

"Thanks Ash." May said softly, her heart pumping fast.

"I-it's no problem," Ash stuttered slightly, "We better go and get the firewood."

"Yeah..."

Like Ash had predicted, it didn't take them long to get the firewood and the amount they needed only required Ash to carry it. When they reached the campsite, and gave Brock the firewood, the smell of what Brock was cooking hit their noses. Ash had completely forgotten just how good Brock's cooking was.

Brock immediately chucked the firewood into the fire, increasing the flames and he stirred the stew, "Just a little longer and it will be ready."

"Hey, look!" Max suddenly shouted, jumping off the boulder he had been sitting on and he pointed into the sky. They all looked in that direction and suddenly a Taillow landed on a boulder not too far from them all.

"It's the Taillow that ate my biscuit!" Max realised, noticing the chocolate smeared on its beak. "The leader of the flock!"

"I wonder what it wants!" May said nervously, backing away a few feet.

"There's no doubt about it," Ash smirked confidently, "it's here for a fight."

"I don't get it," May told him, "what's the point?"

"I'm guessing this Taillow is more prideful than the rest." Brock assumed, "No doubt it wants to prove that it is the strongest."

"It is the leader of the flock, after all." said Ash, "It was almost sent crashing to the ground by one of Electrike's attacks. I've got no doubt that it needs to redeem itself. Let's go, Electrike!"

Ash quickly released the electric canine appeared out of the Poké Ball that Ash threw and she looked upon her challenger eagerly.

Taillow immediately started the battle by flying into the air towards Electrike, making sure not to fly in a straight line towards her, a white light trailing behind it.

"Electrike, use Electro Ball!" Ash once again commanded, when Taillow was in the perfect position. He full well knew that Taillow would dodge it this time. Electrike quickly launched the ball of electricity that had formed in her mouth as Ash expected, Taillow narrowly avoided the electric ball and continued charging towards the electric canine.

"Quickly counter with your own Quick Attack, Electrike!" Ash countered.

Electrike obeyed the order and she quickly leaped into the air, a white light trailing her and she slammed front on with Taillow. Electrike landed on all fours on a boulder, in the edge of the river, and Taillow landed painfully on the ground.

"That doesn't make sense!" Max exclaimed, pushing his glasses up to his eyes, "Taillow shouldn't have lost that collision! I know that Electrike is bigger and heavier, but Taillow had gathered up a lot of speed! It should have been able to hit Electrike in a more effective spot!"

"You're right, that's why Ash fired the Electro Ball first." Brock explained, "It only had one purpose and that was to put Taillow off balance allowing Electrike to come up best in that clash of Quick Attacks. Of course, Ash would have been happy if the Electro Ball had hit."

The attack didn't do much damage to Taillow though as the Tiny Swallow Pokémon immediately got back to its feet and retook into the air. The stubborn flying Pokémon charged the Electrike again but this time Ash didn't issue any commands and Electrike was content to simply avoid the Taillow's attack by jumping onto the boulders that stood out of the river.

"Why doesn't Ash have Electrike attack?" Max was beginning to get very confused by Ash's battling style.

"He is observing the Taillow's battling style." Brock said with some surprise. It looks like Ash had grown a bit since they were last together. "Taillow has only used to attacks so far," Brock noted when Electrike dodged one of Taillow's Peck attacks, "Peck and Quick Attack. Ash must have realised that Taillow doesn't have any ranged attacks and so that means he has a major advantage."

"But why is he observing instead of just winning?!" Max demanded to know.

"He wants to catch it." Brock answered him, gaining startled looks from Max and May. The thought of Ash catching the Taillow seemed to have slip their minds, Brock assumed. "All Pokémon have their natural way of battling and as a trainer, you must understand the way a Pokémon battles. Knowing that, you can then come up with the best way to train and battle alongside that Pokémon. It's much easier than trying to force the Pokémon to battle the way you want it to."

"I never thought of that." Max admitted.

"Ash is great, huh." May grinned widely.

"Obviously," Max rolled his eyes, this argument already feeling very familiar to the one during Ash's battle with their dad, "he gave dad a real tough time and he is almost as strong as the Elite Four!"

"Your father is almost as strong as an Elite Four member?!" Brock said in astonishment.

Max grinned proudly and May sighed tiredly, raising a hand to her forehead. "That's it, I have had enough." May snapped at her little brother, "I've grown tired of your boasting about dad's strength. He used to be that skilled but that was when his younger and before he met our mother! When they fell in love, he gave up on his journey to settle down with her as you well know!"

"May!" Max whined unhappily.

Brock grinned at the comment. He wasn't surprised to hear that their father's desire to become the best faded when he fell in love. As much as he loved travelling with Ash, he knew that if ever fell in love... then he would happily give it up.

"Electrike hit Taillow with a Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

Electrike jumped off one of the boulders into a shallow part of the river and she waited for Taillow to charge her again before unleashing the powerful electric attack. Taillow had charged in too close when she released the electric attack and the Tiny Swallow Pokémon was enveloped by a wave of electricity. Taillow fell towards the river but Ash wasn't going to give it the chance to recover.

"Electrike, finish this with Thunder Fang!"

Electricity crackled around Electrike's fangs and she bit into one of Taillow's wings. Taillow was engulfed with electricity and she slammed the Tiny Swallow Pokémon into a boulder. The force was enough to create a big crack in the boulder and Electrike threw Taillow back onto the rocky terrain, near the river.

Ash didn't hesitate to throw an empty Poké Ball and once Taillow had been encased, the ball only wiggled twice before all attempts to break out ceased. Ash successfully caught the Tiny Swallow Pokémon. A few seconds after Taillow had been captured; the ball vanished in a white light. He had a full party currently.

"You did very well, Electrike." Ash praised the electric canine, rubbing her head slightly. Electrike barked in delight at the praise.

"Electrike is an example of what I was just talking about." Brock grinned, and he turned to May and Max, "Ash didn't get the chance to battle against Electrike to learn how it naturally fought but he did notice the way she acted and used that to figure out how she battled. Electrike is quite an active Pokémon; she is very playful and full of energy. That's another reason why Ash had her continuously dodge Taillow's attacks, because he knew that it would tire out Taillow before Electrike."

Ash returned Electrike back to her Poké Ball for a deserving rest and approached his companions, "The stew should be ready by now, don't you think?"

Brock's stew ended up being as fantastic as usual and it made Ash determined to learn how to cook from Brock during their journey through Hoenn. If he could make food as half as good as Brock, then he would be set.

"I've noticed some changes in your battling style, Ash." Brock said once they had finished their meal. Now they were just relaxing by the river. "You battled that Taillow to perfection."

"It wasn't that hard when I figured out that Taillow didn't have any ranged attacks." Ash answered him with a small grin, "I recently learned how hard it was to battle with a Pokémon that had limited range attacks."

"When did you learn that?" Brock didn't have any recollection where he would have learned that in Johto.

"Just the other day when I battled Norman." Ash replied, "I found it difficult to battle with Pidgeot because she only had the one range attack and that is Hyper Beam. I've realised that I don't have as much variety as I should have and I seriously lack using defensive type moves. If I hadn't battled against Norman, than the thought of teaching a Vigoroth, Flamethrower and Thunderbolt would never have entered my mind."

Brock couldn't disagree with Ash's assessment.

"Brock..!" Max suddenly whined, "What is so important that you have to tell Ash?! I'm dying to know!"

"That's right." Brock remembered telling the young boy that the professor had told him something incredible and he had to pass on the news to Ash. "Thanks, Max! Ash, Professor Oak wanted me to tell you something. He contacted me a few hours before I met up with you."

"What did he want to tell me?" Ash asked interestedly.

"Apparently he got a call from Professor Sycamore yesterday and he learned some incredible information." Brock informed him excitedly.

"What information and who is Professor Sycamore?" Ash leaned forward with interest as he picked up on the excitement of his oldest friend.

"He is a professor that studies Pokémon in the Kalos region." Brock grinned at him, "Apparently he and some others in the Kalos region have made a startling discovery. They have found new type of evolution... its called Mega-Evolution!"

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**End of Chapter**

**If you like it then please leave a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

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**Okay, so I have introduced Mega-Evolution through Brock. I thought this would be a good time to make Ash aware of it, but he won't have too much information to go on right now.**

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**Also the next chapter will have our first time skip. Don't forget to vote in the poll if you're able. I'll let slip that this story is doing well and is definitely in the top 3 so far.**

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**A question for you all, would you like me to put up a list of all of Ash and co's Pokémon at the end of the chapter similar to what I do in the latter chapters of Rise of a Legend?**

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**Next Chapter: May's New Ambition. Release Date: previously the 21****st**** of December but has been pushed back by a week.  
**

**2 weeks until the new Ruby and Sapphire come out here in Australia!**

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**Answering the Readers:**

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_**Q:**__ Wow was Max that much of little prick in the show?_

_**A:**__ Yeah, but hopefully I can make him grow up in a way that people like him more._

_**Q:**__ But the thing where he didn't know what his attraction was? Really? He knew he was attracted to Giselle, didn't he?_

_**A:**__ The attraction that he had to Giselle was a one of type of thing to illustrate just how beautiful she was compared to other girls. However as for the rest, Ash has a one track mind and he didn't think of any other girls like that again and so he completely forgot what it was like to feel attracted to a girl. Don't worry; his denseness about attraction won't last for much longer. _

_**Q:**__ Also can you give Ash an Absol? Will Ash, or May, perhaps, catch an Absol?_

_**A:**__ It's a definite possibility that one of them will get an Absol. _

_**Q:**__ So when will Ash and May start figuring out they have feelings for each other and how will it transform the storyline of the Pokémon world?_

_**A:**__ They will realise that they are attracted to each other within the next few chapters but of course they won't know that the other feels the same way. Actual feelings that go beyond just attraction won't come into it until roughly mid way through the story. As for how it will change the Pokémon storyline, you will just have to wait to find out._

_**Q:**__ Will he be keeping his Pokémon when he comes to Hoenn?_

_**A:**__ All but Onix. I didn't get into it in this chapter, but it will be mentioned in the next one._

_**Q:**__ Also, will Brock be catching some more Pokémon than in the show? Preferably via hatching eggs._

_**A: **__Yes, he will catch a few more than he did in canon. Some will be from eggs._

_**Q:**__ Also, if Ash trades more of his Tauros for more Pokémon, will he got some from the other region besides Hoenn, like Sinnoh, Johto, Kalos, etc?_

_**A:**__ I've mentioned the Kalos region in this chapter and so Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh all exist in the story. Fortunately the new games are coming out in a couple of weeks and so all of the wild Pokémon found in the game are all catchable in this story. To get back on topic, Ash will get some Pokémon from other regions._

_**C:**__ Use more words and sentences to describe Ash's thoughts, maybe triple the amount you currently use. Thus far, Ash appears exceedingly simple-minded and straightforward. Even for the most honest, action-oriented person, his thoughts move magnitudes faster than his speech and actions._

_**R:**__ Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely work on it for future chapters. I decided to show an outside P.O.V for Ash's battle against Taillow. What do you think of the way he battled?_

_**C:**__ Feel free to skip between interesting scenes more. I would say that at least 1/3 of your current scenes appear to be boring filler dialogue, which drags the scenes out too much._

_**R:**__ I tend to add in some filler to make things longer, I agree. I'll try to cut down on it._

_**Q:**__ Will you be doing the movie with the solid hologram Pokémon that have no weakness, where the mastermind makes a Mewtwo with the power of every Pokémon Oak has recorded?_

_**A:**__ I have never heard of this. Can you give me some more info?_

_**C:**__ I also can't wait to see how Roxanne reacts to Ash. If I remember, she liked Ash a little, I think. I also want to see how he reacts to Flannery: that mid-riff is going to make sitting down uncomfortable._

_**R:**__ Roxanne won't react much differently to Ash than the way she did in canon. Flannery, on the other hand, might cause May to feel some jealousy at Ash's reaction ;)_

_**Q:**__ Do you plan on doing various time skips between chapters so the story doesn't drag on?_

_**A:**__ Yeah, there will be a time skip in the next chapter._

_**Q:**__ So will you do the Battle Frontier Saga? Also can you have Ash capture an Aron since its final evolutionary form Aggron can be a real tank and powerhouse for his team do to its high defence and attack stats?_

_**A:**__ I rather not say what Pokémon Ash will catch, it kind of ruins the surprise and so I will just say that it is definitely a possibility. As for the Battle Frontier saga, Ash will hear about it at the end of the story. However if I do decide to write it up it will be as a sequel and it won't be started until I have finished all of my other main stories._


	6. May's New Ambition

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

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**Stone Badge arc****** – **Chapter 6 – May's New Ambition**

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Mega-Evolution sounded amazing.

Ever since Brock had informed him about the new discovery coming out of the Kalos, had Ash extremely excited. It was something that he desperately wanted to witness. The moment that he got the chance, Ash contacted Professor Oak to learn all about it but the elderly professor didn't have enough information to give him yet. The elderly professor promised to keep him up to date when he learned new information.

Although this new evolution had piqued Ash's interest, it wasn't hard to keep himself from obsessing over it. The last week and a half of travelling towards Rustboro City had been full of all kinds of adventures. Already his journey was going along a similar trend to his previous journeys, getting caught up in all kinds of situations but there was one glaring difference between this journey and the ones that he had through Kanto and Johto.

The lack of interference from Jessie, James, and Meowth had been a warm welcome for the trainer from Pallet Town. It was always such a pain for Ash and his friends to have to foil their plans, and despite sometimes in the process of foiling their plans did they learn something like one of their Pokémon learning to use a move properly. Ash realised just how little training he would do with his Pokémon because he was worried that they would all be worn out the next time Team Rocket attacked. They had a habit of attacking at anytime and anyplace.

Despite being in Hoenn for only a few days, it didn't take long for Brock to catch his first Pokémon from the Hoenn region. A Cacnea had approached them cautiously one afternoon while Brock was cooking dinner for them all. Ash, May and Max hadn't been there at the time, Max had dragged May off to look for some Pokémon and Ash and Pikachu went off to do some training. Brock had given the Grass type Pokémon some food, which was eagerly gobbled up, and the upcoming Pokémon Breeder offered a place in his team for Cacnea. The Grass Pokémon eagerly accepted and Brock later regretted catching the Pokémon for two reasons. He had a tendency to hug him excitedly, hurting Brock because of the spikes on his body but Cacnea's worst trait was interfering whenever Brock tried to flirt with beautiful women by stabbing him in the buttocks.

Only a couple of days after that, Brock managed to catch another Pokémon. A Lotad. Ash was reminded of Misty's Psyduck with its dazed and slow nature.

"I can't wait!" Ash shouted happily, his thoughts on the past few days being brushed aside as he and his friends walked along a paved path until they came across a building.

"That must be the Rustboro Hall." Max informed them all, after getting the required information from his PokéNav.

"Yes! It's time for my Gym battle!" The trainer from Pallet cheered in excitement. It was finally time to compete in his first official Gym battle in Hoenn.

"Pika pika!" The electric mouse perched on his shoulder squeaked excitedly.

"What are you talking about, Ash?" Max asked him dully, trailing the excited trainer by a few feet. "We're still over a day's walk from the Gym."

Max chuckled lightly when Ash fell to the ground in despair. It was still surreal for him that he was out on a journey. He may not be old enough yet to go off on his own, with his own Pokémon, but being able to travel with May, Ash and Brock for only a short time had been the most fun he had ever had in his life.

He had seen many different kinds of Pokémon and he had even seen one _evolve_. Even better, he had even helped the Pokémon evolve. Katrina had been the owner of a preserve that cared for sick and injured Pokémon and she had three Mightyena and a Poochyena as her favoured Pokémon. Max had trained the Poochyena in hopes of seeing it evolve, and Ash decided to aid him by battling Poochyena. It was the first time that Max had battled with a Pokémon but Ash quickly proved to be infinitely more skilled than him. His Cyndaquil was easily able to keep Poochyena at bay, but the Fire Mouse Pokémon never hit Poochyena hard enough to injure it badly. Eventually, Poochyena managed to bite Cyndaquil – an attack that it always refused to use in the past – and while it didn't do much damage, it helped it evolve into a Mightyena. Katrina had promised him that when he became a Pokémon Trainer, to come by the reserve again and Mightyena will go with him. Max couldn't hide his gratitude and delight at her promise.

"Who are you going to use in your Gym battle, Ash?" May asked him curiously as they approached the Rustboro Hall, trying to cheer up the suddenly unhappy Ash.

"It depends on what type of Gym it is." Ash glanced at her, his unhappiness vanquished, "I really want to use the Pokémon that I have caught so far in Hoenn, but at the same time there are several Pokémon at Professor Oak's place I want to use. When I learn what type of Gym it is, then I will be able to decide."

The moment that Ash had mention Professor Oak, Max's eyes lit up as suddenly hundreds of questions that he wanted to ask popped up in his mind and he struggled to decide which one to ask first.

He didn't get the chance though because they were all distracted by the sudden appearance of a Beautifly colliding with May's face, chirping happily. May fell onto her back, completely taken back by the sudden appearance of the Bug type Pokémon.

Ash immediately took out his Pokédex to get information on the Pokémon currently sitting on May's face. "Beautifly, the Butterfly Pokémon. Beautifly have long, thin noses which can extend to suck the pollen out of flowers."

"Get off!" May whined loudly, standing back onto her two feet. The Beautifly had moved to perch on top of her head.

"It looks like you've got a new friend." Ash grinned at her.

"It's not funny!" May shouted at him, shaking herself so hard to try and lodge the Beautifly off her, but it was futile.

"I'm so sorry!" A woman with long straight light brown hair that fell down to her shoulders approached them hurriedly. She wore a yellow jumper and a long pink skirt that fell below her knees.

"Are you okay?" A man trailed behind her slightly. He had thick purple hair and he wore a long sleeved green jumper and grey pants. A Venomoth flew above him.

Brock immediately jumped into action.

"Hello!" Brock said happily, with hearts in his eyes. He knelt down on one knee in front of her and grasped her hands softly, "Is your mother an artist? Because you're a work of art!" The Pokémon Breeder complimented her passionately.

Beautifly didn't seem to appreciate Brock flirting with her trainer and she left May's head, and collided with the back of Brock's head.

The woman gasped at her Pokémon's actions, "Beautifly, stop that!"

The Bug type Pokémon just gave her a confused glance, but didn't move from her spot.

"I was wondering," Max and the others approached them, "were you training your Beautifly for the upcoming Pokémon Contest?"

"As a matter of fact, I was." The woman answered him sheepishly, "Unfortunately we stuffed up some of the attacks."

"It was my fault." The purple haired man informed them apologetically, with his Venomoth resting on his shoulder, "My Venomoth's Whirlwind attack was far too powerful. It was a hopeless failure."

"My name is Janet, by the way." The woman introduced herself happily.

"I'm Chaz. How's it going?"

"Fine, I'm Ash." The trainer from Pallet Town replied, with a confused look on his face.

"Hi, I'm May."

"And I'm Max."

"I'm Brock, you're future boyfriend!" The dark skinned boy grinned up at Janet, the hearts still firmly in his eyes. The sudden burst of energy from Brock startled Beautifly enough for her to fly off his head.

"On to more important topics," Ash quickly interrupted Brock, saving them all some embarrassment from his actions, "There's something that I don't understand about what you said, Chaz. How can an attack be too powerful?" The more powerful an attack was, the more damage it would do and the better chance of victory you would have. Ash didn't understand how that was a failure.

It was Max who answered though, "The problem is this... Ash doesn't understand the Pokémon Contest."

"Thank you, Max." Ash dryly replied.

"I guess the thing that you need to know is that a contest battle isn't like a normal Pokémon battle." Chaz explained to him.

"It's about the beauty of the attack," Janet added with a smile, "not just about the raw power of the attack."

"The beauty of the attacks?" Ash repeated.

Janet nodded, "We're Pokémon Coordinators, and we train Pokémon to be graceful."

"What's a Coordinator?" Ash inquired.

"Oh! I know!" May realised, "I've heard of Pokémon Contests! Aren't they where the winner gets a cute little Ribbon or something?!"

"That's right," Janet nodded, and she pulled out a small pouch, revealing her current two Ribbons, "and they look exactly like these two!"

"Wow!" May gasped in appreciation at the sight of the cute Ribbons, "No way! You've already got two of them!" she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Do you want to see mine, May?" Chaz offered, showing off his own Ribbon.

"That's so cool!" May complimented them, "I'm going to win one too!"

"I think you need to be good with Pokémon to win one, May." Max couldn't help but point out.

May turned and glared at him, "What are you talking about? I'm a natural with Pokémon."

"I think I'll enter as well." Brock grinned, "I have heard of Pokémon Contests, it's slowly starting to gain some real popularity in Kanto."

"Hang on a minute," Ash said impatiently, "I have a Gym battle, need I remind you all."

"You're heading to the Rustboro Gym?" Chaz raised an eyebrow, "You aren't planning on using Pikachu, are you?"

"Pi?" The electric mouse tilted his head, curiously.

"I hadn't been planning on it, why do you ask?" Ash narrowed his eyes. Did Chaz mean that the Rustboro Gym was a Ground type Gym?

"That's good, because it would be difficult for an Electric Pokémon to defeat Rock type Pokémon." Chaz informed him.

"A Rock Gym, huh?" Ash mused quietly, "That's going to be a bit of a problem. I'll definitely have to use Totodile, but the Pokémon I have caught since I arrived here won't be very effective, except for Treecko."

"A slight problem though, Ash, and that's the fact that Treecko doesn't know any Grass type moves." Max reminded him.

Ash scratched his cheek, sheepishly, "I'm well aware of that, I'll have to teach him one before we reach the Gym."

"I'm sure you can do it," Brock assured him, "Treecko is much better behaved now."

"He wasn't too happy when you caught that Seviper though." May reminded them, shivering slightly when she remembered the brutal fight between Treecko and Seviper.

Seviper was the latest Pokémon that Ash had captured, not too long ago. On their way here, Ash and the others journeyed to the place where Professor Birch had told them where he had captured Treecko. There they met the other wild Treecko – with Max expressing extreme interests at getting his own Treecko one day – and Ash's Treecko fell into despair at the sight of the destroyed tree. It had been his home and he had failed to protect it. However Ash noticed something, and he pointed it out to Treecko. He discovers some seeds left by the old tree and Ash informed him that this was the tree telling him that it really appreciated all of the help that Treecko gave it. Treecko happily planted the seeds and his fellow Treeckos promised to care for it.

Treecko lightened up a bit after that day. He no longer looked down on the others, but he still tended to isolate himself. Two days later, Treecko was severely hurt protecting Torchic from a Seviper and Ash had to rush him to the Pokémon Centre. When Treecko recovered, the Wood Gecko Pokémon immediately began training, trying to improve his strength by jumping off a waterfall and hitting a large boulder with his tail. After spending an entire morning attempting to smash the boulder, Treecko finally did it but there was no time for rest. Ash and Treecko immediately set out to search for Seviper. After hours of searching, they finally found their target. Unlike the last time – where Treecko would not listen to Ash and battle his own way – Treecko listened to every single one of Ash's orders and defeated the Seviper without any difficulty. He wasn't happy though when Ash decided to catch the Fang Snake Pokémon.

It was a decision that Ash definitely regretted at times. He was almost as bad as Charizard used to be. He was arrogant, selfish and a bully. Right now, Ash was struggling to find a way to break through Seviper's character and change him for the better.

"I have a move that I can teach you, Ash." Chaz offered the young trainer.

"Really?" Ash asked hopefully.

"How about you show Ash this move while I take May, Brock and Max to the registration desk?" Janet proposed to Chaz.

"Sounds good to me." Janet's friend and rival grinned at her.

* * *

**Training Area**

* * *

Chaz escorted Ash and Pikachu to the main area where the Coordinators did their last minute practise. It wasn't anything special, just a large lawn of grass that extended out into the forest. They walked through the lawn until they reached a decent size boulder just at the edge of the forest.

Chaz released a Pokémon from its Poké Ball. Ash recognised the Johto region Pokémon, Sentret that appeared out of the Poké Ball.

"Now the technique that I am going to teach you is called Iron Tail." Chaz informed him.

Ash watched with interest as Sentret's tail was enveloped in a white light and it easily smashed the boulder into pieces. Ash was reminded of Jasmine's Steelix and Claire's Dragonair as they had both used Iron Tail against him.

"See how effective this move would be against Rock type Pokémon." Chaz smirked, and he glanced at Pikachu's tail, "However only a Pokémon with a well developed tail can learn this technique."

Ash nodded gratefully, "I understand, thanks for your help." Pretty much all of his current Pokémon could learn the technique.

"It's no problem, Ash." Chaz grinned at him, after returning Sentret to its Poké Ball, "Good luck learning it, I've got to get ready for the contest."

Ash nodded, as Chaz hurried off towards the Rustboro Hall. Pikachu eagerly jumped off Ash's shoulder, ready to start training in order to learn how to use Iron Tail. Ash pulled out four Poké Balls, and in a white flash, Treecko, Poochyena, Electrike and Seviper were released from their Poké Balls.

Treecko and Seviper instantly glared at each other, and Pikachu immediately jumped in between them before they could tear each other apart. Poochyena sighed at the display, giving them both a disapproving glance. They had no professionalism what so ever. Electrike hadn't noticed the tension as she was more focused on the little butterfly that was flying around. The stern look on Ash's face stopped her from chasing it though; she understood that it meant business today.

"That's enough, you two!" Ash scolded the two glaring Pokémon. "I didn't call you both out here for you two to fight!"

Treecko and Seviper ceased glaring at each other and focused their attention onto their trainer. However Treecko couldn't resist shooting the stick that he had been chewing into the side of Seviper's head. The large snake Pokémon hissed at him furiously and prepared to leap on the grass Pokémon.

"Pikachu... if you would." Ash sighed tiredly.

Pikachu obeyed the order from his best friend immediately, and shocked the two Pokémon. It took a few moments for the two Pokémon to recover and this time they didn't hesitate to listen to what their trainer had to say. Electrike had been really amused at the display, her cheeks crackled with electricity in excitement, hoping that if they misbehaved again, then she would be the one that got to shock them. Poochyena, on the other hand, continued to glance at them in disgust.

"Now the first Gym that we will battle against uses rock Pokémon and so I am teaching you all an attack that can do some significant damage to them. Fortunately since you all have strong looking tails that means that you should all be able to learn it." Ash explained to them all, "So the first thing that we need to do is strengthen all of your tails."

Each of his Pokémon split up to do different exercises in strengthening their tails. Poochyena and Electrike were slamming their tails into large boulders, barely denting them. Ash took that as evidence that they were a long way off from learning this attack. Pikachu was lying on his stomach on top of a large rock, lifting his tail up and down. He had a rope tied to his tail and on the other end it was tied to a small rock. Treecko was hitting trees with his tail, leaving large dents in them. Ash knew it wouldn't take him long to unleash Iron Tail. Also on Ash's mind was a way to teach Treecko how to use Bullet Seed, and he thought he had come up with a way. It would have to wait until they reached Rustboro City. The trainer from Pallet Town was pleased with the endeavour his Pokémon were showing until he glanced to his left, and a twitch formed in his eye.

Seviper was curled up tightly, taking the time to relax, enjoying the warmth radiating from the sun.

"What are you doing, Seviper?" Ash narrowed his eyes at his Pokémon, "It's time to train, not laze about!"

Seviper opened one eye and hissed in annoyance. He didn't move an inch from his position causing Ash to grit his teeth. He had taken enough of this attitude from Charizard, but he was a much better trainer than he was back then.

"Oh, I see." Ash grinned slyly at him, "You have the biggest and strongest looking tail out of all of them, don't you?" Seviper couldn't resist the arrogant smirk to grace his face, "Despite its appearance, it's actually really weak, isn't it?" Ash nodded wisely, as Seviper's eyes shot open and he glared at his trainer. "You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of the other Pokémon, especially Treecko!"

Ash's taunt had the effect that he had hoped. With a dangerous hiss, Seviper's tail slammed into one of the trees, cutting through a decent chunk of the bark. Treecko's eyes narrowed when he saw that the dent in the tree was deeper than his and he immediately launched back into the training, determined to learn the technique first. Seviper accepted the challenge, and Ash grinned at the sight. This had worked out better than he thought it would.

* * *

**Route 104 – Later that Afternoon**

* * *

The Rustboro Pokémon Contest was over.

Janet had taken out the victory, defeating her friend and rival, Chaz, in the final round. Brock had competed in the contest, and unfortunately for May, he had received the last opening spot. Ash didn't admit it out loud, but Brock gaining the final opening was for the better. May wasn't exactly skilled with her Pokémon yet. Instead, she and Max helped Janet with her appeal performance. Brock had competed well in his first performance, making it all the way to the first round of the battle performances with his Crobat. He had called his brother to send Crobat over when he had been accepted into the contest. He was knocked out by Chaz's Venomoth.

They had said their goodbyes to their new friends before continuing down route 104 towards Rustboro City. Brock and Max were walking a good distance ahead of the group, with Max talking excitedly about the contest he had just witnessed for the first time. Brock was just as enthusiastic about it, having enjoyed competing.

Ash walked with his hands in his pockets, and Pikachu perched on his shoulder, snoozing lightly. He had his Pokémon all worked hard trying to learn the Iron Tail attack, but none of them had succeeded so far. Although, Pikachu, Seviper and Treecko's tails glowed white briefly at some point. He looked back at May and he was surprised to see a thoughtful look on her face. Ash slowed his walk until they were level.

"What's up, May?" Ash inquired curiously.

His question startled May for a moment, and she looked away. "I've just been thinking." she murmured, hesitant to say it out loud.

"What about?" Ash asked her, gently, "I'm not going to laugh at you or anything."

"I'm thinking about becoming a Pokémon Coordinator." May informed him. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be considering that he didn't watch the contest today. She was worried that he didn't like contests and wouldn't support her goal.

May's fears were completely erased the moment that Ash smiled.

"A Coordinator, huh?" The young trainer grinned at his companion, "I think that's an awesome goal. It was a shame that I didn't get to see the contest today." Ash rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly, "I was really distracted training my Pokémon, but no matter what, I will definitely watch you compete in all of you contests! I'll help you train for them as well. I promise!" He finished firmly.

"Wow, thanks Ash." May said softly, with a light blush covering her cheeks. She reached out and took Ash's hand gently in hers, surprising him. May gave it a light squeeze, before releasing it and hurrying off towards her little brother and Brock.

Ash just stared at his hand in confusion, wondering why for a moment he didn't want her to let go. He shook his head, banishing the thoughts. He had much more important things to think about right now and that was his upcoming Gym battle.

Get ready Hoenn, Ash thought fiercely. I'm ready to begin my assault on you!

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it, then please leave a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

* * *

**Brock has James's Cacnea and Ash has Jessie's Seviper. I have already informed you that Team Rocket would get all there canon Pokémon and that wasn't a lie.**

* * *

**Ash's Current Party:**

* * *

**Pikachu (M)**

**Seviper (M)**

**Taillow (M)**

**Electrike (F)**

**Poochyena (M)**

**Treecko (M)**

* * *

**This story topped in the results of my poll and so this story will about every second Sunday. The next chapter will be posted on Sunday, the 25****th**** of January. It will be Ash's first official Gym battle!  
**

**25.01.2015 Update = Chapter will be slightly late. Won't be released until the 26th of January!**

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**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**Q: **__One question, will Max get his own Pokémon, like an unofficial one? Some under aged kids from the show are shown to have them. Could Ash or May perhaps catch one for him to learn with and train himself, like that Poochyena or Ralts?_

_**A:**__ Yes, he will. He has already been promised a Mightyena, but he will gain his own unofficial Pokémon at some point._

_**Q: **__Can you send Max in the next town into a taxi and send him back home?_

_**A:**__ Sorry, but no. Don't worry; he will mellow out as the story progresses. _

_**Q: **__Why did Pidgeot not use the flight advantage more and stay out of Vigoroth's range?_

_**A:**__ Vigoroth used three long ranged attacks, plus since they were inside of the Gym, Pidgeot didn't have much freedom in the air. Added to the fact that Ash is extremely rusty with Pidgeot, the next time they battle will be much different._

_**Q: **__Will Ash catch an Eevee?_

_**A: **__Perhaps._

_**Q: **__Will he have a rivalry with Drew?_

_**A:**__ Not really, no. Perhaps a really small one but his story isn't going to be a major focused on a potential love triangle._

_**Q: **__Will Charizard come back permanently?_

_**A:**__ No, he won't._

_**C:**__ There is a major issue with that battle sequence with Norman that kind of ruins it for me, When Pidgeot used "Whirlwind" it somehow reacted with the flamethrower and basically caused Pidgeot to be surrounded by flames..._

_**R: **__Honestly, I don't know much about chemicals and other scientific stuff like that. That bit in the battle was inspired by the Naruto manga. In it, whenever a wind attack is against a fire attack, it boosts the power of the fire attack, unless the wind attack is far stronger than the fire attack._

_**Q:**__ Will any of the Legendary Pokémon, like Latias and Lugia, make a comeback?_

_**A:**__ No, they won't._

_**Q: **__Will Alain also be included in the story?_

_**A:**__ Unlikely, but I may be able to fit him in somewhere._

_**Q:**__ Can you give Ash the same Larvitar from Johto?_

_**A:**__ If he does get a Larvitar, it would definitely be the one from Johto._

_**Q:**__ Now when Ash and May become a couple will it be before or after the rematch with Norman? Because if it's before that would be an interesting meeting between Ash and May's parents._

_**A: **__That's a good question. If they're not together by that stage, then they will be very close._

_**Q:**__ Is May going to compete in contests?_

_**A:**__ Definitely_

_**Q: **__Will you give him a Lucario you know because of all the aura-user stuff?_

_**A:**__ I might, but if he does get a Lucario, it won't get Mega-Evolution._

_**Q:**__ is there a chance that Ash will create the counter shield earlier than he did in canon, or something similar?_

_**A:**__ A high possibility. _


	7. Battling for the Stone Badge!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

**Sorry that this chapter is a little late, it took longer than I thought it would.**

* * *

****Stone Badge arc****** – ****Chapter 7 – Battling for the Stone Badge! Ash vs. Roxanne!**

* * *

It was hard to tell which was brighter, the sun shining brightly high in the sky, not a cloud in sight or the grin on Ash's face as he stood outside of the Rustboro Gym. If Ash hadn't been warned about the type of Gym that was used at Rustboro, then he would have easily figured it out the moment that he saw the building. It was far more detailed than the Pewter Gym, which Brock took notice of, and vowed to remember this when he next returned home. Brock couldn't allow his family's Gym to be out done in such a way.

Unlike the large grey stones that were used for the Pewter Gym, the Rustboro Gym was surrounded by large brown boulders, and only the front door and wall were the only visible parts of the actual building. There was a wide cement path leading from the Gym to the opening of the brick wall surrounding the Gym. At the very edges of the path were a row of small grey stones, each one was the size of a basketball. Behind the stones, in between the wall and the Gym was a sandy loam, with many grey boulders scattered throughout the sandy area. There were two palm trees, one on each side of the line of boulders. At the entrance to the Gym was a small flight of stairs, four in total and standing in between the stairs and the brick wall were two statues of a Golem.

"This is the Rustboro Gym?!" May said in awe at the sight of the Gym.

"It's nothing like the Petalburg Gym!" Max frowned disappointingly, comparing his father's Gym to the one in front of him. This Gym looked _so_ much better than the plain looking Gym that his father worked at.

"It's finally time." Ash whispered quietly, a determined frown marred his face as he stared at the Gym. He wasn't going to lose. His previous journeys through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto were all big learning experiences. Now, while he knew that there were always new things to learn, it was time to take everything that he had learned over the past couple of years and use it to conquer, not only this battle, but the entire league.

"Pika!" The electric mouse on his shoulder agreed, his cheeks sparkled lightly. He wished that he would be fighting in this Gym but he understood that Ash needed to give some of his other Pokémon experience.

"This is so exciting!" Max almost squealed enthusiastically, barely containing himself at the last moment. "I can't wait to see a _real_ Gym battle in action." The one that his father had with Ash didn't count since it was official.

"Your father's a Gym Leader... you haven't seen him battle a challenger before?" Brock asked the siblings.

"Nope," Max grinned up at him, "he didn't want to disturb the challenger's concentration, so he never let us watch."

"That's understandable, but it shouldn't bother the challenger too much." Brock frowned.

"What do you mean, Brock?" Max questioned him curiously.

It wasn't Brock that answered him though, it was Ash. The raven black haired Trainer looked back at Max with a smirk on his face, "If a Trainer is bothered by a couple of kids watching them battle, then they won't do so well at the Ever Grande Conference."

"Why?" May wondered, however if this was an anime, a light bulb would have just lit up above Max's head as he understood just what Ash was hinting at.

"It's a huge tournament, May." Brock explained to her patiently, "Not only is there thousands of people turning up to watch the conference live, it is also televised around the world. People living in Unova – which is the most isolated region – are able to watch it live on television."

"Whoa!" May gulped nervously, momentarily glad that she wasn't going to compete in it. "That's a lot of pressure."

"You know, May, there will be a large crowd watching whenever you compete in a Pokémon Contest." Brock informed her, gently.

May's eyes widened and she remembered the large crowd that had been at the contest three days ago. Now she was starting to regret the decision to become a Pokémon Coordinator. A hand clasping her shoulder softly startled her out of her nervous thoughts, and she stared into the brown eyes of Ash Ketchum.

"Don't worry, May." Ash reassured her, with a small grin on his face. "Once you're out there doing something that you love and enjoy, you won't even notice the crowd. Although, I have to admit, there is nothing better than hearing the cheers from the crowd when you win."

May nodded, with a small smile on her face. "Thanks, Ash." she said gratefully. The young teen really appreciated Ash's words, but it didn't completely ease her sudden nerves. The problem was that she didn't know if she would enjoy being a Coordinator even though it had looked amazing to her when she watched Janet perform. May hadn't even started practising with her Torchic and newly acquired Wurmple that she caught two days ago. Ash had promised that he would help her after his Gym battle.

Brock grinned at the sight of Ash trying to cheer up May. The two of them had a long, and quite frankly, embarrassing talk a couple of nights ago. Brock told him everything that Ash needed to know to about the changes he was going through, and about his thoughts and feelings towards girls. Of course, Brock gave him a serious lecture about how kids are conceived. The last thing that Brock wanted was his best friend being forced to give up his journey to raise a child that he wasn't ready for. Although, Ash was only 13 and so Brock wasn't too concerned about that happening anytime soon.

"Can we go in now?!" Max couldn't no longer contain his excitement and his face looked like it was going to burst as he looked up at them, desperately.

"That's right!" Ash exclaimed with wide eyes, immediately spinning around and he marched up the steps. He had a Gym battle to win.

Ash was the first one to enter the doors, and immediately he could see the battlefield where his Gym match against Roxanne would take place. It was very similar to the battlefield that is in the Pewter Gym but like the design of the Gym, it was filled with small brown boulders, unlike at Pewter, which the battlefield was scattered with small grey stones.

"Look at the battlefield!" yelled Max. The young boy was practically jumping up and down in anticipation.

"I can't think of a better battlefield for Rock Pokémon." Brock observed, feeling a little nostalgic at the sight of the rocky field. The elder teen had been horrified when he returned home after his Johto journey to discover the Pewter Gym battlefield had been engulfed in water. While he was able to solve it after defeating his mother in a battle, regaining the Gym to strictly use Rock type Pokémon, he was worried that his mother would have done something else to it by now.

Brock glanced to his right to see Ash's attention on the battlefield, his eyes scanning every inch of it searching for areas that he could use to his advantage. There was a different atmosphere around Ash, Brock noticed. Usually Ash was childishly enthusiastic before a Gym battle, but the Ash next to him was calm, focused and confident. He was almost disappointed that Ash wouldn't be using Pikachu for this battle. He would have loved to see the look on Roxanne's face and everyone watching when Ash defeated the Rock Pokémon with Pikachu.

"Hey Max!" a young feminine voice called out, causing Max to look up in the stands to see the group of kids that he had met yesterday when he attended a day at the Pokémon Trainers School. It was his new friend Anita that had called out to him, sitting next to her was the shy, but a great strategist Kenny and next to him was the arrogant, yet intelligent Thomas. "Come sit up here with us!" she signalled to the empty seat next to her.

Max looked over at Brock, as if asking for permission, and Brock nodded his head. Max excitably raced up the stairs to converse with his new friends.

"Isn't that adorable?" May rested her cheek in her palm, as she observed her little brother converse with all of his new friends. Her head shot up out of her hand, the gleeful look on her face caught Ash and Brock's attention. "Maybe we can leave him here!" she suggested excitedly.

"I don't think we can do that May." Brock chuckled.

"Why not?" May pouted at him, "Let them deal with that pain in the butt."

Ash snorted, and he stifled a chuckle that threatened to break out. Pikachu gave his Trainer a reproachful look. Didn't his Trainer realise that he was more annoying than Max when they first met?

"I'm glad you came, Ash." A voice called out, and Ash looked up into the stands to see the beautiful taupe haired Gym Leader looking down at them with a smile on her face. The Gym Leader and school teacher wore a grey, long sleeved dress and pink pants. "I've been looking forward to this match."

"Right back at you, Roxanne." Ash smirked, eager to get started. The young Trainer from Pallet Town suddenly noticed the amount of people that were crowded around the Gym. From the young class that Max had spent a day with to sixteen year old teenagers enrolled in their final year, all of them were eager to see the Gym battle.

"I hope you don't mind that most of my students are here to watch this match, do you, Ash?" Roxanne asked him politely, walking down from the stands, towards the rocky battlefield. She signalled over to the group of teens that were setting up a video camera. "Is it also okay with you that we record this so my students can look back over and study?"

"Fine with me," was the immediate reply by the confident challenger, "I just hope you can handle watching you lose when you review the tape with your students."

Roxanne let out a chuckle, while some of her students looked at her nervously. They didn't get the chance to see Roxanne battle a challenger often, as most Trainers didn't want to have their matches recorded and observed. Some Trainers were really picky about who they allowed to see their Gym battles and the ones that they had been allowed to see were never this cocky to Roxanne.

* * *

A few minutes past before Ash and Roxanne each stood at the opposite ends of the rectangular, rocky battlefield. May and Brock had taken seats in the stands, near Ash. Pikachu was up with them, sitting comfortably on May's lap.

"The battle between the Gym Leader Roxanne and the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is about to begin!" the brown haired teenage referee announced. The young man held a flag in each hand, one red and the other green. "This will be an elimination match, with both Trainers using two Pokémon. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon during the match!"

'_A standard match, huh?'_ Ash thought.

He wondered what Gyms would have the double battles that the boy, Forrester Franklin, had told him about. On the day that May caught her Wurmple, Ash had met the Forrester and was introduced to the concept of double battles. Ash had only one official battle like that back when he was competing in the Orange Islands. The ones against Jesse and James didn't count.

The two of them had a double battle, Ash's Treecko and Taillow versus Forrester's Yanma and Ariados with Treecko and Taillow coming out on top.

"Let's begin!" Roxanne announced excitedly, pulling out her first Poké Ball, "Geodude, I choose you!"

Ash easily recognised the Rock/Ground type Pokémon that had appeared out of her Poké Ball. A fond smile appeared on his face at the sight of the levitating Rock/Ground type Pokémon. Geodude had been the second Pokémon that he had officially battled in a Pokémon Gym. It was hard to believe how different he was compared to the amateur that had challenged the Pewter Gym.

He needed to win. He was sick and tired of getting Badges through other means instead of actually defeating the Gym Leader and earning the Badge. It wasn't too bad in Johto, but he still had a detailed memory of his Gym battles in Kanto. Perhaps if he had earned the Badges through defeating the leaders, then he would have been better prepared for the Indigo Plateau.

That wasn't going to be acceptable this time. Ash was going to earn every single one of his Badges.

Ash grabbed the brim of his cap, and turned it until it covered the back of his neck. In a flash, the Trainer from Pallet Town released the Hoenn Grass Starter Pokémon onto the battlefield. The moment Treecko landed onto the field, he immediately stuck his trademark twig into his mouth and his eyes narrowed, focusing in on his opponent.

* * *

The moment that May saw the Rock Pokémon, she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it. "Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks."

"A Geodude, huh?" Brock grinned at the sight, "Man, this takes me back." The upcoming Pokémon Breeder noticed the look of confusion on May's face, and he explained happily, "I've got a Geodude, and I used him when I fought Ash when he challenged me at the Pewter Gym."

"I bet Ash dominated, didn't he?!" May assumed with a bright grin, her eyes on Ash.

Brock snorted, startling the girl, "He was a complete amateur. He entered my Rock Gym with a young, inexperienced Pikachu and he didn't even last a minute."

"Really?!" May gaped at the elder teen in astonishment, "Ash?!"

"Everyone starts off as amateurs, May." Brock informed her, gently, "Even the greatest Coordinators going around right now started off just like you are May."

"That's hard to believe." May murmured softly. "So how did Ash go from an amateur to where he is now?"

"He didn't do it alone. Misty and I helped him along the way and he managed to befriend some powerful Pokémon along the way." Brock explained, "Unfortunately Ash had a couple of traits that consistently got in the way of us trying to help him."

"What's that?"

"He was too darn stubborn at times." Brock chuckled lightly, "And he didn't always prepare well enough before a Gym battle or a match in the Pokémon League."

Using Squirtle against Ritchie's Butterfree when Ash knew that one of his Pokémon was going to be a Charmander... that had been a terrible choice by his friend. He should have used Pikachu from the get-go.

"That was way back then, though." Brock said confidently, "I have a feeling Ash is going to go far this time."

May hoped that he was right, and she tore her eyes away from Brock back to the Pokémon battle that was about to begin.

* * *

"You're pal doesn't stand a chance against, Miss Roxanne." Tommy declared confidently.

Max scoffed at the comment. Ash may have only made it to the second round of the Silver Conference but Max knew that he was good enough to defeat Roxanne. "No way!" he retorted, "Ash had prepared well for this match."

Before the two could descend into an argument that had the potential to last for hours, Kenny interrupted them, "It can go either way. Ash knows what type of Pokémon Miss Roxanne is going to use which gives him the edge going in, but Miss Roxanne is smart and strong enough to be able to counter anything that is thrown her way."

The shy boy had begun to come out of his shell after the events yesterday. During the battle between Max and Tommy, where Max kept ordering Poliwag to do defensive moves against the Magby, Tommy had been using. Poliwag was one more Flamethrower away from fainting and Kenny didn't know why, but he blurted out that Max should use Water Gun. Max did so, and Poliwag knocked Magby in one blow. Tommy had gained a new found respect for Kenny following that incident.

* * *

"I'll let you make the first move, Ash." Roxanne offered.

"As you wish." Ash grinned, "Let's start this off with something simple! Use Bullet Seed, Treecko!"

It was a move that Treecko had picked up very quickly once they reached Rustboro City. While Max spent yesterday in the Pokémon Trainer's School, Ash and Treecko began training to learn the long ranged grass attack. Ash bought several watermelons and he had Treecko spit out the seeds into a tree until eventually Treecko was able to fire off the attack without the need of watermelon seeds.

Treecko unleashed a barrage of yellow energy bullets out of his mouth, each one was about the size of a seeds, and they moved so fast through the air that it was impossible to count how many he was firing at once.

"Block it, Geodude!" Roxanne quickly countered.

The Rock Pokémon managed to cross his arms over his face, protecting the most vulnerable part of his body just in time before the yellow bullets of energy had the chance to slam into his face. Geodude's teeth clenched as Treecko kept up the assault, the attacking hitting his arms may not be doing much damage to him overall, but it still _hurt_.

"Cease firing, Treecko." Ash ordered swiftly, conceding that this assault was going nowhere. He knew that the attack would still be hurting Geodude but Treecko was still a long way off from mastering Bullet Seed. Constantly firing it at Geodude would tire Treecko out before it wore down Geodude.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Ash, if you want that Stone Badge." Roxanne grinned at him. "Use Mega Punch, Geodude!"

"Treecko charge Geodude with a Quick Attack!"

"What is he up too?" Roxanne murmured softly. Using a normal physical attack against a rock type was suicidal.

Treecko fell onto all fours and sprinted straight at Geodude, the signature white light trailing behind him. He moved so fast that everyone bar Ash, Pikachu, Roxanne, Brock and Geodude couldn't follow his movement. The Rock Pokémon had to react quickly and anticipate the right time to strike The Hoenn Starter with his fist.

"Now..." Ash narrowed his eyes; he could see Treecko's movements precisely. Treecko wasn't close to the lightning speed of Pikachu's Quick Attack and so it made it easy for Ash to follow Treecko's movements. This enabled him to easily be able to adjust Treecko's actions. "Jump over Geodude!"

Geodude didn't move from his spot, content to allow Treecko to approach him. His right fist was encased in white light when and he threw the punch straight at Treecko when he was close enough. However the Rock Pokémon's eyes widened when he hit nothing but air.

Using the speed from his Quick Attack, Treecko was able to launch himself into the air at an incredible speed, so much that Geodude had lost all visual contact of him.

"Now hit him with Bullet Seed!" Ash called out with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Treecko was sailing high over the top of Geodude and he didn't hesitate to launch the volley of energy bullet seeds straight into the back of Geodude. The velocity and power behind the Grass attack sent Geodude crashing painfully into the rocky floor. The Wood Gecko Pokémon used the strength of his tail to flip in mid air and landed on top of the largest boulder on the battlefield.

"That was a nice little manoeuvre, Ash." Roxanne complimented the younger Trainer, "But I'm afraid that Geodude has taken far stronger Bullet Seed attacks than that. Now use Rock Throw, Geodude!"

Just like Roxanne had said, Geodude recovered immediately and he grasped a nearby boulder before ripping it out of the ground. The Rock Pokémon quickly spun around and hurled the boulder straight at Treecko.

"Dodge it quickly Treecko and then retaliate with Bullet Seed!"

Treecko managed to jump off the large stone in time to avoid the incoming boulder and then followed with another volley of energy bullets, although this one was much smaller than the previous couple. Geodude already had another boulder in his hand and he threw it into the incoming Bullet Seed. The bullets pierced through the boulder and it crumbled to pieces. The Wood Gecko Pokémon landed on top of another boulder and waited for his next instructions.

"Let's use Rollout!" Roxanne ordered calmly.

Geodude curled into a ball and rolled towards Treecko at a speed far greater than Ash had anticipated. Ash knew that the longer Geodude used Rollout, the faster and stronger the attack would get and considering how deep Geodude was carving up the ground, Treecko wouldn't last long against such an attack.

"Treecko, return!" Ash quickly recalled The Hoenn Starter. Without batting an eye, Ash immediately released his next Pokémon. "I choose you, Totodile!"

The small bipedal, blue crocodile Pokémon appeared out of the Poké Ball and onto the battlefield. Just like Totodile always did – it didn't matter where he was, whether it was a Pokémon league battle or a party – he began to dance excitedly.

* * *

"That's so adorable!" May squealed at the sight of Totodile dancing. Never had she seen a Pokémon do such an endearing dance.

"That's Totodile," Brock grinned, "I can't help but wonder if he will continue to dance if he ever evolves?"

* * *

"See!" Tommy smirked cockily at a nervous looking Max, "Miss Roxanne has already forced Ash to change Pokémon!"

Max just glared at him.

"That Pokémon is so adorable!" Anita squealed at the sight of the dancing Totodile, "Look at him dance!"

The sight of Totodile's dancing just increased Tommy's arrogance. "That Totodile doesn't have a chance against Miss Roxanne's Geodude!"

* * *

"Use Water Gun, Totodile!" Ash grinned, a plan forming in his mind.

The dancing crocodile didn't seem to hear him for a moment, content to dance, uncaring of the rolling Geodude heading towards him. Just before Geodude reached Totodile, Ash saw that the red spikes on his back began to glow brightly. In an instant, the playful, dancing Totodile suddenly ceased his actions and unleashed a torrent of water out of his mouth. It wasn't the usual blast of water that shot out of Totodile's jaws. This was more of a beam of water, far larger than the Water Gun, and it spun clockwise like a tornado. Unfortunately for Geodude, the beam of water had been fired at such a close distance that he had no chance of avoiding it. The blast of water lifted Geodude off the ground and he was sent crashing through several boulders that were scattered throughout the battlefield. The power behind Totodile's attack had not only torn up several boulders but the floor of the battle ground. Standing between the fallen Geodude and Totodile was a long, 2 metre wide, 3 inch deep, half a cylinder shaped hole in the ground that had been rooted up from the force of the blast.

"That wasn't a Water Gun..." Ash whispered softly, in awe of the attack. He had never seen Totodile unleash such a powerful attack. "Did you learn how to do that recently while you were at Professor Oak's?" he called out to his Totodile.

"Dile!" The blue croc grinned widely at his Trainer, showing off his sharp, white teeth.

'_I wish that the professor had informed me that Totodile had learned this move when he sent Totodile back to me.'_ Ash thought frustrated.

He was slightly annoyed at the professor, but he was more irritated with himself for not checking his Pokédex for the possibility that Totodile had learned any new moves in the last week. He resolved to always check his Pokédex whenever Professor Oak sent him one of his Pokémon. It was amateurish mistakes like this that had cost him in the other tournaments.

"Geodude is unable to battle!" The referee announced, holding up the green flag, signalling that Ash had won the first battle. "The victor of the first battle goes to the challenger, Ash Ketchum."

* * *

"That was a Water Gun?" May said astonished. The Water Gun that Mudkip had used on her paled in comparison to Totodile's. "Ash's Totodile is unbelievably strong!"

"That wasn't a Water Gun, May." Brock informed her, taken back at the powerful attack from Totodile. "That was Totodile's Hydro Pump. It's a more evolved and more powerful version of the Water Gun."

* * *

Max couldn't have looked any smugger. He wore a cocky smirk on his face, and he folded his arms across his chest, "You were saying?" he asked Tommy, mockingly.

This time it was Tommy's turn to glare at him.

* * *

Roxanne returned the unconscious Geodude back into his Poké Ball. "You were great." she complimented her Pokémon, "Who would have thought that a Totodile could unleashed such a powerful water attack?" The Gym Leader hadn't expected an attack like that, especially after Ash had called out the much weaker version. However she had the Pokémon that could combat the power of Totodile's Hydro Pump.

"I choose you, Nosepass!"

Out of Roxanne's Poké Ball appeared a Pokémon that Ash had never seen before. The Pokémon was almost three times the size of Totodile, standing at roughly 1.7 metres tall. It is a blue, angular, hard bipedal Pokémon with a bright red, triangular nose that is highly magnetic and slightly resembled a 3D arrow. It has arms and legs without any visible joints and small, circular holes on the undersides.

"What is that?" Ash wondered, pulling out his Pokédex, "Nosepass, the Compass Pokémon. Nosepass has a nose that functions as an electromagnet and determines location by moving its nose about." Dexter informed him.

"I'll start this one off, if you don't mind, Ash." Roxanne offered, but she didn't wait for any agreement, "Use Zap Cannon!"

Nosepass's nose was engulfed in a yellow light and it launched a massive bright electrical beam that rushed at Totodile with great velocity.

"Use Water Gun on the ground to dodge it!" Ash immediately called out, with wide eyes, having not anticipated the electric attack. The blue crocodile quickly blasted water into the floor and the strength behind the attack, combined with the target being at such close range sent Totodile a few metres into the air. From his position in the air, Totodile could see the electrical beam pass harmlessly underneath him.

"Come back, Totodile." Ash called out, and he returned Totodile back into his Poké Ball.

* * *

"Now it's getting good!" Tommy smirked over at Max, "Nosepass is Miss Roxanne's strongest Pokémon! It can't be beaten by anyone!"

"Both of Ash's Pokémon have an advantage over Nosepass!" Max retorted strongly. "Plus Totodile has fought matches in the Silver Conference! It's strong enough to take on Nosepass _if_ Treecko falls!"

* * *

While Ash was confident that Totodile could still win despite the knowledge that Nosepass could use electric attacks, he wanted to give Treecko another go.

"Come back out, Treecko!"

The small, green, bipedal reptilian Pokémon re-entered the battle with a determined look on his face as he observed his new opponent.

"Back to Treecko, huh?" Roxanne grinned, "Trap it with Rock Tomb!"

"Jump and dodge it, Treecko!" Ash immediately ordered.

Nosepass jumped into the air and slammed back down onto the ground, sending a shockwave towards the place where Treecko stood. The Wood Gecko Pokémon wasn't just going to stand still and be caught in Nosepass's attack. Following his Trainer's command, Treecko jumped into the air onto one of the boulders, just avoiding the sudden giant rocks that protruded out of the ground where he had been standing.

"Hit Nosepass with Bullet Seed!"

Nosepass didn't even flinch when the barrage of yellow energy bullets collided into its body, the weak attack not even penetrating its impressive defences.

* * *

Tommy laughed at Max, "Treecko's attacks can't hurt Nosepass! Miss Roxanne has won this!"

* * *

Treecko let out a grunt of frustration, his pride taking a hit at the sight of his attack failing miserably and even his Trainer couldn't help but scowl at the sight. Perhaps he should have waited a little longer until Treecko perfected his Bullet Seed, Ash thought. He quickly shook off the thought, he couldn't afford to get frustrated, it was time to bring out the big guns. This Nosepass may have some decent power behind its attacks and an impressive defence, but it was slow and Treecko can exploit that. Although Ash needed to do something about all of the boulders scattered around.

"Use Quick Attack to jump around on the boulders, Treecko!"

"Hit Treecko with a Rock Throw!"

Nosepass lifted up several boulders with its magnetic powers and launched them straight at Treecko. However each one missed its target thanks to the dazzling speed of Treecko's Quick Attack. The Wood Gecko Pokémon jumped from boulder to boulder with ease, as if he had springs under his feet, but he was slowly running out of large rocks to leap on. Each time Nosepass launched a large rock at Treecko, and it was dodged, it destroyed the boulder that Treecko had been standing on.

This went on for several minutes as the large boulders scattered on the battlefield slowly dwindled down to almost nothing. Roxanne didn't seem to mind that there were fewer rocks on the field as she didn't order to Nosepass to stop. It was clear why this was. The effort to launch the rocks didn't waste much of Nosepass's energy, but using Quick Attack to dodge all of the attacks was draining Treecko's energy rapidly.

* * *

"I see," Brock realised, "That's what Ash is up to!"

"What's he up to?!" May asked him urgently, completely confused on what Ash was trying to achieve.

"He is trying to get rid of all the rocks so he can utilise Treecko's and Totodile's speed and also weaken some of Nosepass's rock throwing power." Brock explained patiently, "With all of the boulders now all broken up into smaller pieces, they won't be as damaging. They might be quicker, but Ash is confident that his Pokémon can dodge the rocks, and if they can't, then it won't be any trouble to simply deflect them. If it's possible, Ash will always try to get the field set up in a way that gives him an advantage."

* * *

"You still good to go, Treecko?" Ash asked the bipedal reptilian Pokémon.

Treecko nodded, while sweating and panting heavily, yet he still had his twig in his mouth.

Ash grinned at the determination of his Pokémon. It was time to end this match. "Treecko charge in there with another Quick Attack!" Treecko immediately fell onto all fours again and shot towards Nosepass, his speed significantly slower than his previous attacks.

"He is using Quick Attack again?" Roxanne groaned, frustrated by the constant Quick Attacks. "Use Power Gem!"

Similar to the Zap Cannon, Nosepass's nose was engulfed in a bright light, this time orange in colour. It fired a smaller beam of orange energy compared to the Zap Cannon and Treecko just managed to evade the beam. The orange blast created a deep hole into the battlefield, and the shock-wave that echoed throughout the battlefield made Treecko stumble slightly, but through sheer will and determination, the Wood Gecko Pokémon kept up his offensive assault.

"Now hit Nosepass with an Iron Tail!" Ash ordered firmly.

Treecko immediately rushed in close and pushed off the ground with all four limbs, his large, thick tail engulfed in a white energy. He turned in mid air and smashed his now iron tail straight into Nosepass's electromagnet nose. The force sent the Rock Pokémon tumbling back three steps but it remained standing.

* * *

"You were saying?" Max grinned at the shocked and disgruntled look on Tommy's face.

* * *

"Follow up with one more, Treecko!" said Ash hurriedly. He needed to get this Pokémon off its feet, it had the type of a body that a turtle has. If Nosepass is sent crashing onto its back, then it would be a real struggle for it to get back to its feet.

"So Treecko knows Iron Tail," Roxanne smiled, "Ash has prepared quite well for this match, but Treecko won't hit Nosepass again. Cover the battlefield with a Sandstorm, Nosepass!"

"Nosepass!" The Rock Pokémon grunted, a light blue energy encased his nose and it summoned up all of the dirt and sand on the ground into the air. The entire battlefield was covered in a huge, blistering cloud of sand and dirt, making it impossible for anyone to see through the dense cloud. The sand cloud was so large and thick that it even reached up to the stands forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

"I can't see a thing!" Ash groaned, helplessly trying to see through the sand storm. It seemed that his strategy of destroying the large boulders to open up space had just back fired on him. No doubt that the debris of the shattered rocks helped fuel the sand storm. It didn't just hinder everyone's ability to see, but it was so loud that it was almost impossible to hear anything else around them. What was worse is that Nosepass is able to locate Treecko through the fierce storm thanks to its electromagnet nose and that meant that Treecko was a sitting duck.

"Tree, Treecko." The Wood Gecko was back on two feet, with one arm shielding his eyes and the other, futilely held out in front of him to block any incoming attacks.

The attack came from below him. Treecko only got a brief tremble in the ground below him as a warning before he was ensnared by four thick, long boulders that shot up out of the ground. The Hoenn Starter briefly struggled to break free from his rocky prison, but he didn't have the strength to break free. His limbs were heavy from the overuse of the Quick Attack and he desperately tried to break out with Iron Tail, but he couldn't summon the iron energy to strengthen his tail. Even if this hadn't happened, it was a cold realisation for Treecko knowing that he wouldn't have been able to hit Nosepass with another Iron Tail. The prison grip tightened around him, and he slowly blacked out.

The sand storm died down, allowing everyone to suck in some much appreciated air but Ash didn't get to enjoy it. The moment that the storm fell away, he saw Treecko unconscious and trapped in the Rock Tomb.

The referee held up the red flag, signalling Roxanne's victory. "Treecko is unable to battle. This victory goes to the Gym Leader, Roxanne!"

* * *

Tommy was on his feet cheering, along with most of the class.

* * *

The rocky prison crumbled away, releasing Treecko. Ash returned the fallen Hoenn started back into his Poké Ball, "Thanks buddy, you were great." he whispered softly. After he shrunk the Poké Ball, and placed it on his belt, he pulled out Totodile's Poké Ball.

The energetic blue crocodile re-entered the battlefield, showing no signs of pain from the Zap Cannon that it had been hit by earlier.

"Let's paralyse Totodile with a Thunder Wave!" Roxanne ordered swiftly.

Nosepass's body lit up like a Christmas tree, except with light blue electricity and it launched the static shock waves at Totodile. Totodile dodged each thin blue static shock-wave that tried to hit him with his instinctive dance moves and by the way he moved, it was like he was just playing with the Rock Pokémon.

While everyone else in the room was drawn to Totodile's dancing skills, including Roxanne, – as she had never seen an opponent's Pokémon dance like this against her – Ash's eyes were sorely on the battlefield. In fact, his eyes were focused on the hole that Nosepass had created when it tried to hit Treecko with its Power Gem. The Rock Pokémon was only a couple of steps away from it, and Ash fully intended to use it to his advantage.

"Blast Nosepass away with Hydro Pump, Totodile!"

"Counter with Zap Cannon!"

Like it had earlier, the red spikes on Totodile's back lit up just before he unleashed the powerful tornado-like beam of water from his jaws. At the same time, the electromagnet nose on Nosepass was enveloped with yellow electricity before he fired the powerful beam of condensed electricity. The two attacks collided in mid air, producing a powerful shock-wave and despite the advantage electricity had over water; the Hydro Pump crushed the Zap Cannon.

Unlike Totodile, Nosepass wasn't able to utilise the true power of the Zap Cannon because it was a Rock type Pokémon. The powerful beam of water tore straight through the electrical blast and slammed straight into Nosepass's nose. The force behind large torrent of water pushed Nosepass back towards the hole like Ash had hoped for but he stopped just shy of its left leg falling into it.

Totodile ceased firing his strongest water attack, and grinned widely at his opponent, feeling extremely excited that he overpowered the electric attack.

"Block his vision with another Sandstorm!" Roxanne told her Pokémon, planning on using the cover to hit Totodile with an electric attack.

"Stop it by firing a Water Gun into the ground by Nosepass's left leg!" Ash swiftly retaliated.

Totodile understood exactly what his Trainer was trying to do and in order to give his Water Gun some extra force; he leaped high into the air by using his tail as a spring. The blue crocodile released a smaller blast of water out from his jaws just as Nosepass's nose was enveloped in a light blue energy. The surge of water that Totodile had unleashed smashed into the ground right next to Nosepass's left leg, and the force of it left a small hole with some cracks shooting out towards the original hole, confusing everyone on what he was trying to do. It was just when the cloud of sand and dirt began to rise throughout the battlefield that everyone understood Ash's intentions. The ground underneath Nosepass fell away, the size of the hole increasing due to the Water Gun weakening the stability under foot. Nosepass's left leg suddenly fell into the hole, disrupting its concentration and he lost control of the sand and dirt. It all scattered back onto the ground.

"Finish this match with another Hydro Pump, Totodile!" Ash called out triumphantly.

Roxanne smirked, "Nice try, Ash. Pull yourself out of there and use Zap Cannon!"

Using its electromagnetic powers, Nosepass pulled itself out of the ground and into the air. Totodile hadn't mastered his Hydro Pump yet to the point where he could adjust the beam of water in the process of firing and so, Nosepass sailed safely over the water attack, its nose glowing with yellow electricity.

"Dile!" The blue crocodile snarled painfully when he was engulfed by the powerful beam of compressed electricity. The resulting explosion of electric beam hitting the ground created a large cloud of dusty smoke that blocked everyone's view of Totodile, until the croc rolled painfully out of the dusty cloud. Electric sparks crackled around Totodile's body as he attempted to get back to his feet.

It was one of the side effects after getting hit by a Zap Cannon; instant paralysis.

It looked like the match had completely turned into Roxanne's favour until Nosepass landed back onto the ground, and _stumbled_.

"What's the matter, Nosepass?" Roxanne's eyes widened in concern and confusion when electric sparks suddenly appeared around the Rock Pokémon's body.

"It looks like you stuffed up, Roxanne." Ash said grinning in relief as Totodile began to get back to his feet. "You're Nosepass is soaked from Totodile's Hydro Pump. A wet non-electric Pokémon using an electric attack will have drawbacks."

"Toto..." the blue crocodile growled, standing back on his feet. The playful and energetic demeanour had vanished. Ash was honestly startled by how serious Totodile looked, as he had never seen Totodile this serious before. The reason for that was answered immediately.

Totodile was engulfed by a white silvery light.

With wide eyes, Ash watched in awe as Totodile's body began to change. Every part of his body began to expand until he was twice the size that he had been previously. The shape of his jaw that had been long and straight became curved, and his spikes changed, now having three clusters of spikes on his body. One with three points on his head like a crest, one with two points on his back, and a diamond-shaped spike on his tail. The moment the white silvery energy dissipated, Ash finally got a good look at his newly evolved Pokémon. Black markings surround hiss red eyes and his lower jaw is yellow and pronounced. His chest has an asymmetrical, yellow pattern resembling a spotted animal skin.

* * *

Every single one of the students in the beginners' class was on their feet, including Max, watching Totodile evolve. It was the first time the students had seen a Pokémon evolve before their eyes. Max had seen evolution before, but seeing it still amazed him and it always would.

* * *

Ash pulled out his Pokédex, "Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokémon, and the evolved form of Totodile. Once it bites down on something, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. But new fangs grow back quickly."

"You evolved! That's fantastic, Croconaw!" Ash grinned widely at the big jaw Pokémon, his eyes shone with fierce pride. A confused looked flashed across his face when he saw the new move that Croconaw had gained from evolving. He had never seen or heard of this move before but reading the description, he had a fair idea on what it does.

"Let's finish this in one blow!" Ash declared passionately, "Use Aqua Jet!"

A light blue aura flashed over Croconaw's body and he was engulfed in a sphere of water. In an instant, Croconaw launched himself off the ground like a torpedo, and the force of the launch shattered the ground underneath. He shot through the air to fast for Roxanne or Nosepass to react as both of them were completely taken by the new attack. Croconaw slammed into Nosepass's electromagnet nose, head first, and not only was the power behind the attack strong enough to send the Rock Pokémon crashing onto his back, but the water that surrounded Croconaw all fell onto Nosepass. Croconaw flipped in mid air and landed on Nosepass's forehead. With a quick look at the swirls in its eyes, he jumped off the Rock Pokémon and began to dance happily. Despite his newly evolved body, his style of dancing was exactly the same as it was when he was a Totodile.

The referee held up the green flag, "Nosepass is unable to battle. The Gym Leader Roxanne is out of Pokémon! That means the victor of this match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The umpire declared.

"Yes!" Ash yelled victoriously, smiling at Croconaw with pride. "You fought brilliantly!" Ash praised the Big Jaw Pokémon, causing Croconaw to grin widely at him while dancing.

* * *

"So that's what a real Gym battle is like!" Max muttered in awe, before looking over at the shocked Tommy with a large smirk on his face, "See that! Ash is one of the best Trainers!"

"Whatever." Tommy quickly brushed off the disappointment, and glared at Max, "That match isn't important. We'll settle things next year when we become Trainers!" the nine year old boy declared firmly, "We're rivals now!"

"Sounds good." Max said excitedly, thrilled to have his first official rival. It was one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Trainer. He looked over at Kenny and Anita, "What about you guys?" he asked them curiously, "Are you two more interested in Pokémon now?"

"Yeah, a little bit." Anita smiled at him, "I don't know what I want to do. Right now, I am just happy that they're starting to interest me more."

"I'm like her." Kenny said nervously. "I don't have a clue what I want to do when I'm older."

* * *

"Congratulations, Ash." Roxanne approached him, after thanking and returning her Pokémon back into its Poké Ball. She had a small smile on her face and the Stone Badge in her hand. "You have more than earned this Badge. I am happy to present to you, the Stone Badge." Roxanne praised the younger Trainer, holding out the Badge for him to take.

"Thank you, Roxanne." Ash said politely, accepting the Badge graciously. "I learned a lot from our battle."

"Well done, Ash!" a voice from his right called out, and Ash turned to see May and Brock approaching him. Pikachu was on Brock's shoulder, beaming. He was obviously proud of the way Croconaw and Treecko battled.

Ash was stunned and delighted when May suddenly hugged him. Although, he was disappointed that it was broken before he had the chance to reciprocate it. His attention was immediately drawn away from a rather flustered May when Pikachu eagerly jumped into his arms.

Brock had a knowing look on his face, something that didn't bode well for Ash.

* * *

**The Next Morning – 10:00am**

* * *

Ash let out a loud yawn, with his hand covering his mouth politely. He had a tough time sleeping last night, still too psyched about his victory at the Rustboro Gym. He glanced at the Stone Badge that was inside of the Badge case that Norman had given him, and despite getting the Badge, he was already eager for the next Gym battle.

"So where are we off to next, Max?" May questioned her brother.

The four of them were all sitting on the comfortable and soft couches in the lobby of the Pokémon centre. There were several couches scattered throughout the lobby, each one being able to hold two people, three for a tight squeeze. May was sitting close next to Ash – who had Pikachu on his shoulder – while Max and Brock sat on the couch opposite to them.

"Hmm," the young boy hummed lightly, scanning his PokéNav thoroughly. "We've got two options. We could go through the Rusturf Tunnel to Verdanturf Town and then onwards to Mauville. After that we are loaded with many options on what are next goal is. Another option is to take a boat to Dewford, compete in the Gym there and then travel to Slateport. Once we're there, then we can go to Mauville."

"What's the quickest way to the next Gym?" Ash asked him curiously.

"I would say going through the tunnel would be the quickest way to go." Max answered him.

"That's true," said Brock, looking over Max's shoulder at the map on the PokéNav, "however that makes Dewford really out of the way. It would be a pain to have to go all the way back when we can simply go there on our way to Mauville."

May grinned brightly, rocking her body slightly in excitement. "Plus Slateport City and Dewford Island have the number one and two best ranked beaches in Hoenn, respectively!"

"It's your call, Ash." Brock looked over at his friend, curious to what he would choose. The old Ash would probably go to the Gym closest, and he wondered what this Ash would choose.

The Trainer from Pallet Town really wanted to get to his next Gym battle and in order to achieve that, then the tunnel would be the best choice. However, he couldn't deny what Brock said made sense. That meant that Dewford was the obvious choice but it wasn't Brock's reasoning that convinced him. Brock didn't miss the glance that he gave May before he answered.

* * *

May + Beach = May in a swimsuit!

* * *

"We're going to Dewford Island!" Ash yelled excitedly, and May cheered next to him. Instinctively she reached out to hug him in delight, but quickly gained control of her enthusiasm. Fortunately Ash didn't notice the movement, or the light blush on her face but someone else did.

Brock let out a slight grin at Ash's choice and May's reaction. He remembered the look on Ash's face when May hugged him yesterday. It looked like giving Ash the talk had more of an impact than Brock thought it would. Brock would very much enjoy watching Ash interact with the girls throughout this journey.

It was going to be an entertaining experience.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it then leave a review! If you don't like it, then don't read it!**

**That was a long chapter, hope you all liked it.**

* * *

**It was always my plan to evolve Totodile during the battle against Roxanne. It was hard to do, because Ash's Totodile is one of my favourite Pokémon, but it was necessary. Although, I will admit that if Croconaw becomes a Feraligatr, I'm unsure what kind of dance he will do. Croconaw can get away with the one that Totodile used, but not Feraligatr. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.**

* * *

**Ash finally caught another Pokémon in the XY series and it's a Dragon type! Now hopefully the writers decide to actually evolve this one.**

* * *

**Brock has given Ash the Talk, finally and already it has changed Ash. Considering he is eager to see May in a swimsuit ;)**

* * *

**Now as for the Mega-Evolution that Ash will get, like I had thought, Charizard is in the lead by a far margin. Unfortunately after looking back over the story, and with what I have planned, I'm going to have to scrap the possibility of Charizard gaining Mega-Evolution, **_**at least in this story**_**. I have several reasons for this:**

**1\. The premise of the story is what Gary says to Ash and how it changes the story. He told Ash that he relied too much on Pikachu and Charizard and for Ash to get Mega Charizard would kind of prove Gary's point.**

**2\. Even though I am using the Y version, Mega Charizard is the most overdone Mega Evolution and so I want to go down different path.**

**3\. The biggest reason is this: when Charizard comes into the story, he is going to be powerful, very powerful. He was not happy about his fight with Blaziken in the Silver Conference, and has trained intensely. If I gave him Mega-Evolution, then I would have to weaken his natural form because his Mega form would be way too overpowered.**

* * *

**So the choices for Ash's Mega-Evolution are:**

**Sceptile**

**Manectric**

**Heracross**

**Pidgeot**

**Glalie**

* * *

**Next Chapter: 8th of February **

**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**C: **__I was wondering too if the original Hoenn team in anime would still be the same in your story._

_**R:**__ Every Pokémon that Ash caught in Hoenn in the anime, he will catch in this story. _

_**Q: **__Did Brock catch a Cacnea in the anime?_

_**A**__: No, he didn't. The Cacnea that he caught was the one that James had caught in the anime. _

_**Q:**__ Ash is 13, what kind of 13 year old doesn't know about sex? Jeez, are you trying to make him look pathetic?_

_**A:**__ Ash is a kid that went off on a journey when he was ten and thus didn't learn about it in school. Yes, he is a little pathetic. He is extremely naive about all of this and it will be one of the issues that Ash will deal with as he matures throughout the story. At least Brock has given him the talk._

_**Q:**__ Will May be able to use mega-evolution for her contests?_

_**A:**__ If she gets one, then yes she will be able to._

_**Q:**__ Does that mean that Team Rocket will have copy Pokémons or (heaven forbid) those 2 Pokémon will betray Ash and Brock to join team rocket?_

_**A:**__ No, nothing like that. It will be revealed, and it's nothing complicated or epic._

_**Q:**__ The delta ep from the recent remake of ruby and sapphire, will there be some elements from that appearing in the story at some point or is that on the fence for now?_

_In light of ORAS, will there be similar events that will happen in concern to Groudon and Kyogre that will cause them to Primal revert, and, like in Emerald, someone will have to go and get Rayquaza to help stop them?_

_**A:**__ It's on the fence, to be honest. If I do it, then I will have to replace the movie __Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, which I'm pretty sure I've stated that I wasn't going to do, because I didn't like it. However if I do the Delta episode, then Ash would have to catch __Rayquaza__, which is not going to happen. If I do it, then it will be different to the actual game version. As for Groudon and Kyogre, there is a high possibility that I will use the primal evolutions._

_**Q:**__Sceptile, Glalie and Pidgeot don't have a form in X/Y. Do they have one in alpha sapphire and omega ruby?_

_**A:**__ Yes, they do._

_**Q:**__But, you also said, in the Q&amp;A of this chapter, that Charizard won't come back to stay on his team permanently. That kind of defeats the purpose of choosing Charizard as his Pokémon for Mega Evolution. With that in mind, how are you going to work around that? Or was your plan, from the beginning, to turn Mega Evolution into a minor gimmick that showed up once in a blue moon?_

_**A:**__ Charizard gaining Mega-Evolution has been scrapped for reasons that are stated above. If Charizard did gain Mega-Evolution in one of the possible sequels, then he will come back to Ash's team permanently. _

_**Q:**__ I was expecting Ash to mention he beat Brock, a Rock Gym leader, with Pikachu way back when.. At least... I think it was?_

_**A:**__ Ash doesn't really consider that a win. He forfeited the match and Brock gave him the Badge, so that's why he didn't bring it up._

_**Q:**__ Will Brock catch another rock type in the future since he hasn't caught one in a while?_

_**A:**__ Yep _

_**Q:**__ Will Ash catch a ghost Pokémon in the future as he hasn't had one since Haunter, whom wasn't officially his?_

_**A:**__ Yep _

_**Q:**__ So Jessie gets the Seviper and James gets the Cacnea how?_

_**A:**__ I won't reveal it yet, but it isn't that big of a deal._

_**Q:**__ So is Team Rocket coming back as good guys or bad guys?_

_**A:**__ They're going legit._


	8. Team Aqua

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

**Update = Major error pointed out to me about the fight with Crawdaunt. Completely forgot that he was part Dark type, I had thought he was pure water like Corphish. I have corrected it!**

* * *

**Knuckle Badge arc****** – **Chapter 8 – Team Aqua**

* * *

**Rustboro Port – 11:30am**

* * *

There was a large line at the Rustboro Port for tickets onto the next ferry. Of course, there wasn't just one destination on offer, there were several lines, each with a different destination. The line with the largest amount of people were all heading to Dewford Island, fortunately for Ash and his friends, Brock was pretty close to the front of the line. Other destinations were Slateport, Pacifidlog Town, Sootopolis City, Mossdeep City, Lilycove City and they even had lines for ferries to other regions, and three regions catches Ash's attention for the moment. Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos... three regions that Ash had yet to experience.

The young trainer shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts. He was getting too far ahead of himself. He had barely scratched the surface of the Hoenn region, and yet, he couldn't help but think ahead. What would he do if he did indeed win the Hoenn League? He would be eligible to compete in the Champions League, meaning that he would be allowed to compete against the Elite Four, and if he defeated all of them, then he would get to battle the Champion of Hoenn.

However, that would mean that he may not get to travel to these other regions and catch all different kinds of Pokémon if he decided to compete in the Champions League. If he was going to compete in the Champions League, then his main focus would have to be on the Pokémon that he already has.

"Ash!" A young voice yelled in his ear, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked to his right to see that Max was the one that shouted in his ear, and the kid had a confused look on his face. Pikachu had a similar look on his face while sitting on Max's shoulder.

"What's up?" Ash asked his young friend.

"What were you thinking about?" May inquired curiously, butting into the conversation from Ash's left.

"It's nothing." Ash grinned at her, "Just thinking about my future battles."

"Look!" Max grinned, pointing over at the line and they saw that Brock was finally approaching the desk to purchase the tickets.

"Finally!" Ash exclaimed happily, "We've been waiting for over twenty minutes for this."

The three of them – and Pikachu, of course – were standing at the far corner of the booking hall, waiting impatiently for their tickets. The booking hall was one of the biggest rooms that Ash had entered since coming to Rustboro. Only the Rustboro Gym surpassed it.

"According to the board, the ferry leaves in a couple of hours." Max looked over at the large electronic board that covered half of the left wall of the large booking hall.

"Nope, we're not taking that one." Ash informed him. "I talked to Brock before my Gym battle and we decided that today we will take our time getting all of the necessary supplies and head out tomorrow morning."

"You suggested that?!" Max said incredulously, astonishment clear in his eyes, "You delayed getting to your next Gym battle!"

"I've caught a lot of ferries during my journey so far, Max, and they all end up in two possible scenarios." Ash chuckled sheepishly, "We either miss the ferry altogether or we just make it in the nick of time. This time is going to be different."

May clapped her hands together excitedly. "That means that we have the entire day to do whatever we want!" She said happily, her eyes sparkling. Ash was momentarily mesmerised by them, until he heard the next words leave her mouth. "Think of all of the shopping that we can do! I saw some sales on the way here that we need to check out!"

She looked up at the roof, possible items that she could buy flashed through her mind. May was almost unable to keep the squeal of excitement under lock and key and when she lowered her head, she saw nothing but air where Ash and Max had been previously standing.

The two of them had vanished.

"Alright! We've got the tickets for the ferry tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the morning." Brock walked over to May, holding the four tickets in his hands. He noticed the shocked look on her face, and he quickly glanced around to see no sign of Ash, Max and Pikachu. "Where are Ash and Max?" Brock hesitantly asked her. He regretted asking the question immediately, and he grew nervous at the sight of the angry look that had suddenly appeared on May's face.

* * *

"You know we are going to pay for that later, right?" Max told Ash as they walked down the street, a couple of blocks away from the Rustboro Port.

"Probably," Ash agreed, hoping that May didn't get as angry as Misty. "But I've had enough of shopping sprees to last a lifetime." He still had nightmares of all the times that Misty had forced him to accompany her when she shopped. Especially the dreadful, horrible day full of despair for all those that hated shopping, the day that is widely known as the Princess Festival. He released a shiver at the memories of the days he spent with Misty during the time of the Princess Festival. The one in Kanto had been tame compared to the ones in Johto.

"What are you going to do for the rest of the day then, Ash?" Max questioned him curiously.

"First, I am going to contact Professor Oak and transfer some of my Pokémon. Then I'm going to get my own set of supplies. I can't let Brock get all of the supplies. Once I do that, then I will spend the rest of the day training my Pokémon." Ash answered him. "What about you, Max? What're you going to do today? You can come with me if you want."

"Thanks, b-but I can't." Max replied, a hint of nerves creeping into his voice. "I have some things to do!" With that, the nine year old quickly ran off, leaving a dumbfounded Ash wondering just what was so important that would make Max not want to watch Pokémon training.

"Should I go after him?" Ash asked the electric rodent that had taken his usual perch on his shoulder.

"Chu..."

"He'll be fine." Ash dismissed, "He will be old enough to start journeying on his own next year, so exploring the town is no big deal. Let's head to the Pokémon Centre, we need to talk to the professor."

"Pika!"

* * *

"I can't believe that I did this!" Max moaned in despair, holding the broken PokéNav in his hands. He had spilled soda onto the PokéNav last night and it hadn't been working since. May was going to be so angry at him if she found out.

His miserable thoughts were interrupted when he came across a group of roughly ten kids surrounding a small rectangular table in front of the front steps of a tall building. With his curiosity peaked, the young boy approached the table to see what was going on. An adult man, in his early fifties, wearing a lilac suit, placed a figurine of a wrestler onto the table and followed up by giving the figurine an unopened can of soda. The wrestler then proceeded to open the can of soda but the results weren't what the man had been expecting. The can shook furiously as it tried to open the can, and in the end, the wrestler broke open the can and crushed it at the same time. The liquid soaked the man, and all of the kids jumped back, trying to avoid being covered in soda.

The crowd immediately dispersed, with all the kids snickering at the failed product. All but Max. The amusing sight only distracted him for a second before he fell back into misery, staring at the broken device.

"What's wrong, kid?" The man asked him, after placing a white hat on his head.

"My name is Max, not kid!" The young boy snapped instinctively, "I've got to tell my sister that I broke the PokéNav." May would not be happy about this. She had always said that he wasn't mature enough to take care of important devices. He had promised to keep it safe and operational and he had broken that promise.

"Maybe you don't have to tell her anything. You can go to the Devon Corporation." The old man informed him.

"Will they protect me from May?" Max asked him, hopefully.

"Haven't you ever heard of the Devon Corporation before?" The man seemed surprised. "We can repair anything because we make everything."

"Really?!"

The man nodded, but before he could boast more about the company, he saw a familiar car pull up on the side of the road.

"I've got to go!" The man said, hastily, and he quickly rested a hand on Max's shoulder. "Remember: the Devon Corporation. It's the biggest building in town!"

Max blinked in confusion as the old man ran away, being chased by a much younger man in a black suit.

Still, he had nothing to lose by taking the man's advice.

* * *

**Pokémon Centre – Lobby**

* * *

"How did it go against Roxanne, Ash?" Professor Oak greeted the young trainer from Pallet Town.

Ash grinned as he sat down on a stool, and he pulled out his Badge case to show the professor on the video phone his newly acquired badge. "I pulled off my first win in Hoenn."

"Congratulations, young man." Professor Oak said proudly. "Roxanne is no push over. I'm sure it must have been an incredible match to watch."

"She was tough, that's for sure." Ash agreed with him, that Nosepass of hers had been tough. "I don't know if I would won if Totodile didn't evolve."

"Your Totodile evolved?! That's splendid news!" Professor Oak beamed in delight. "I had a feeling that he was close to evolving. He had been training very hard in the few days that he was here."

"I'm going to stick with Croconaw for a bit longer, do you mind sending over Pidgeot, Noctowl, and Bayleef."

"That's no problem." Professor Oak assured him, "Who are you sending here in return?"

"I'll be sending you Seviper, Poochyena and Treecko." Ash replied, "I've studied a little about the Gym on Dewford Island, and I've learned that it is a Fighting type Gym."

"That is why you're keeping Taillow with you and adding Pidgeot and Noctowl to your party." The elderly professor nodded, understandingly.

"Yeah, not to mention that I want them to help train Taillow. Pidgeot has plenty of experience fighting strong Pokémon, and Noctowl is incredibly intelligent. I'm sure that the three of them will bond well together." Ash explained.

"I must say Ash... you've changed since you went to Hoenn." The man that was the closest thing that Ash had to a grandfather observed, "You're really starting to grow up."

"Thanks Professor." Ash blushed slightly at the praise.

"Oh, Ash, do you want to hear about the recent visitor that I had pay me a visit?" The professor asked him. "It's someone you know."

"Yeah, sure." Ash agreed, wondering who he knew that would visit the professor. Misty seemed the most obvious choice since Tracey was there and they were friends.

"He beat you in the Indigo Plateau." Oak smiled and he immediately saw the realisation flash in Ash's eyes.

"Ritchie?!"

Oak nodded, and he explained that Ritchie had come to him seeking advice on what he should evolve his Eevee into. The professor decided to leave out that he was kidnapped by some Team Rocket Grunts.

"He is staying with me for a couple of weeks." The professor informed him, "Right now he is with Tracey learning about all of the different habits that the Pokémon get up to while staying here."

"Sounds great!" Ash grinned widely, "I'll have to have a battle with him again someday. I need to redeem myself for losing in the Indigo Plateau."

"I'll be sure to pass on the message." The professor chuckled.

If Ash had an Eevee, he knew what evolution he would prefer it evolve into – if it wanted to evolve at all, he wouldn't force it – and that was an Espeon. He was seriously lacking in Psychic type Pokémon. Only his Noctowl was capable of using Psychic attacks but since Noctowl wasn't a part Psychic type Pokémon, he couldn't utilise the full power of the Psychic attacks.

A few minutes later, Ash bid the professor farewell after making the transfer. "Okay, Pikachu," He glanced at the electric mouse on his shoulder, "let's go and get some supplies quickly so we can start training."

"Pika!"

"Excuse me," A soft, feminine voice stopped him in his tracks. Ash turned to see Nurse Joy, except this one was slightly different. Instead of being dressed in a nurse's outfit, like he was used to seeing her wearing, this Joy wore a purple unzipped jacket, a white shirt underneath, a white bag strapped to her shoulder and lilac pants. "Are you Ash Ketchum?"

"Yeah, that's me." Ash answered, startled slightly.

"I thought so," Joy grinned, recognising him from the Silver Conference. "I never thought I would find you this quickly once I got to Hoenn."

"Find me? Why were you looking for me?" Ash frowned at her.

"I'm Agent Joy. I work for the Pokémon Inspection Agency." Joy introduced herself.

"The Pokémon Inspection Agency... the organisation that inspects Pokémon Gyms, right?" Ash asked her, remembering the time that he was in Dark City.

"That's right, and your friend Misty wanted me to pass you a message if I ever ran into you." Joy said with a slight smile.

"Misty?" Ash blinked, surprised to hear the name of the first human friend that he had made after setting out on his journey. However he quickly put two and two together. "Is she alright? You didn't close down the Cerulean Gym did you?!" He asked her anxiously. He wouldn't be against the idea of Misty rejoining them if the Gym had been closed but he knew, secretly, that Misty really wanted to be the Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym. It was a stepping stone on her way to becoming a Water type Pokémon Master like she wanted.

"No, I didn't." Joy assured him, smiling brightly at the concern the young man expressed to Misty. "In fact, Misty passed with flying colours. She wanted me to tell you that she finally made it as a Gym Leader."

Ash beamed with pride, and Pikachu exclaimed a happy, "Pika, pika!"

"I knew that she could do it!" Ash said smugly.

"She has real potential," Agent Joy agreed, "Being able to tame such an enraged Gyarados at such a young age is truly remarkable."

"Misty tamed a Gyarados?!" Ash shouted, astonishment visible in his wide eyes. He knew about Misty's fear towards Gyarados – although Gyarados was a very intimidating Pokémon for any trainer – but the Atrocious Pokémon was one Water type Pokémon that Misty had vowed to never go near. For her to conquer that fear and successfully tame Gyarados was amazing. Out of all of Misty's accomplishments, Ash knew that this was easily the most impressive. He would have to call her to give her his congratulations.

"Chu..." the electric mouse murmured softly in awe.

"Yes, she did." Joy replied, "Well, I have to go. I need to go inspect the Rustboro Gym. It was nice meeting you, Ash."

"I just had a battle there yesterday." Ash quickly told her, "It's a top notch Gym. I'm sure you will be happy."

"I'm glad to hear that."

The moment that Agent Joy departed, Ash was back onto the video phone and he called up Misty. He wasn't sure if he would get an answer, she might be in a Gym battle. However he didn't have to worry, as after a couple of rings, Misty's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Mist!" Ash greeted her happily.

"Ash! And Pikachu!" Misty yelled, her eyes sparkling with happiness at the sight of them. "I wasn't expecting you to call. How is it over there in Hoenn?"

"You know I'm in Hoenn?" Ash blinked in confusion for a moment, before realisation settled in, "Did Tracey tell you? Brock? My mom? Professor Oak?"

"Nope," Misty giggled lightly, "I just knew that you would be going there after your battle with Harrison."

"That obvious, huh?" Ash grinned at her, "Anyway, I just met up with Agent Joy and she just told me all about the inspection."

"She found you already?"

Ash nodded, and he listened intently to Misty's version of the events.

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Ash admitted when Misty had finished, "The fact that you now have an obedient Gyarados is going to cause a great challenger for all those wishing a Cascade Badge."

Misty smirked arrogantly, "Don't I know it. Not even you could get a Cascade Badge off me now."

Ash snorted, the two of them easily falling into their traditional banter. "You wish, in case you're forgetting, Gyarados is both a Water/Flying type Pokémon Pikachu would destroy it."

"Pikachu!" The electric mouse gave Misty a cocky grin.

Misty scoffed, "Have you already forgot Ash? I already have the perfect Pokémon to counter Pikachu."

Ash's right eye twitched, and Pikachu's head bowed depressingly. That match up had _not_ been fun.

"Speaking of which," Misty said, looking over her shoulder and Ash could see Togepi in the corner of the screen, "I think someone wants to say hi to you both."

Misty stood up, and Ash's eyes widened when he saw that she was wearing a red two piece swimsuit. Ash got a good view of her panty covered small, round, tight looking backside and a part of Ash stiffened slightly, causing him discomfort. Fortunately Pikachu didn't seem to realise what had happened to him. Still the action surprised him, it was similar to what happened on the ferry to Hoenn. Considering that Misty always wore that very short pair of jean shorts, he couldn't believe that he had never really appreciated the sight more.

"Hello Togepi." Ash greeted the small egg Pokémon, and he watched with a smile as Pikachu and Togepi exchanged greetings. While they did that, he took the moment to observe Misty. A noticeable difference in Misty's appearance was the fact that she had all of her orange hair down, and it had grown slightly. Ash had never really appreciated Misty's looks, only teasing her about her appearance to piss her off, but now he could see that she was rather pretty.

Once the Pokémon were finished talking to each other – and with Ash wondering if Togepi could actually talk in sentences to Pikachu – Misty and Ash finally said goodbye.

* * *

**Devon Corporation – 6:30pm**

* * *

"... And it seems that the president, Mr. Stone, has taking a liking to Max."

"Why would someone that important take a liking to that annoying kid?" May wondered out loud, to Ash's amusement, though he kept it from showing.

Ash and Pikachu had met up with Brock and May a couple of hours after they talked with Misty. Brock had been quite unhappy with him and Max. He had been left all alone and was forced to go shopping with May. Not long after they had all met up, waiting for Max to come back, Nurse Joy had received a call to inform them to head over to the Devon Corporation. When they got there, a brown haired man, in a black suit had informed them that Max was here and hanging with the president of Devon Corp.

"You children can be so darn funny sometimes." The man – known as Kennedy, the assistant to Mr. Stone – chuckled lightly, as he found the comment amusing. "The reason could be that Max may remind Mr. Stone of his own son, Steven. He happens to very skilled Pokémon Trainer."

"Maybe I'll battle him someday." Ash pondered.

"I'm sure you two will meet at some point." Kennedy chuckled. "Steven has only thought about Pokémon ever since he was a little kid."

"That explains why the president is so fond of Max." May said brightly.

Kennedy signalled to one of the many doors in the large hall, "Come on, I'll show you the way."

Just when he was about to lead them to Max and Mr. Stone, his beeper rang and he immediately contacted the president through his mobile phone.

"What is it, Mr. Stone?" Kennedy asked urgently, knowing that if he was contacted via his beeper, then there was crisis at hand.

"Max and I are chasing a suspicious stranger wearing one of our lab coats up to the roof."

"We'll be there to assist you immediately." Kennedy said swiftly, closing his phone. He looked over at the kids, "Max and Mr. Stone are chasing a suspect up to the roof."

May froze, and she immediately turned to the one person that she could count on, "Is he going to be alright, Ash?!"

Ash clenched his right fist, and gave her a determined look. "Don't worry, May, we're going to head up there immediately." The trainer from Pallet looked straight at Kennedy, "Can you lead May and Brock up to the roof?"

"Of course," Kennedy frowned, "but what about you?"

Ash pulled out a Poké Ball, with a smirk on his face, "I'm taking a short cut."

* * *

**Top of the Devon Corp. Building**

* * *

He couldn't believe that he had been spotted, the suspect growled to himself, as he ran up the stairs towards the roof of the building. This was supposed to be an easy job, sneak in, get some samples, and some notes, and get out. Now he was being chased by some brat and the president of the company. That meant security wouldn't be too far behind him, but as long as he got to the roof, he was home free.

The long brown haired man, with a pair of sunglasses barged through the door leading to the roof, and he immediately stopped. His eyes widened behind his glasses at the sight that greeted him. Standing before him was a young trainer, and surrounding that trainer were six Pokémon. With a quick scan, he identified them as a Pikachu, Bayleef, Croconaw, Taillow, Pidgeot, and a shiny Noctowl.

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere." Ash smirked with his arms folded across his chest, his posture screamed confidence. Unlike most of his encounters with Team Rocket, where he would only use one or two Pokémon at once, this time he was using them all. He wasn't going to let guys like this get away.

The man quickly reached into his pocket, but Ash was ready for him. "Bayleef, wrap him up with a Vine Whip!"

The pale yellow sauropod dinosaur looking Pokémon immediately launched two vines out of the ring of curled leaf-like growths around her neck, and they immediately wrapped around the man's chest. They squeezed tightly, also pinning his arms, but not before he managed to release a Pokémon from a Poké Ball.

The creature that appeared was a primarily red, crustacean Pokémon with a tan underside. It has circular eyes set in deep sockets and a large, star-shaped growth on its forehead.

"Crawdaunt!" the man grunted, the pressure from the vines was painful. "Use Crabhammer on these vines to break me loose."

The Rogue Pokémon's right pincer was enveloped in a bright pale blue energy, and he scurried over quickly to the vines.

"Noctowl! Intercept with Air Slash!" Ash immediately ordered, utilising one of the new moves the Flying type had picked up.

Noctowl swiftly gathered a spiraling ball of pure blue energy above his head in between his wings and with a quick aim, he threw it in front of Crawdaunt. It moved much faster through the air than Crawdaunt's scurries and it collided into the roof just in front of it. The explosion left a hole in the roof, the size of a bag of basketballs and Bayleef was forced to quickly jump back, in case the roof underfoot gave way because she was too close to the edge. Crawdaunt was sent flying back.

"Pikachu get a into an open position!" Ash immediately instructed, and Pikachu didn't hesitate to follow the order, jumping off his shoulder and hurried to the edge of the roof. "Pidgeot use Sand Attack on the trainer! Croconaw, use Water Gun to push Crawdaunt towards Pikachu!"

Croconaw danced a few feet to his right in order to get into the right position, and when he saw Pikachu in spot, he unleashed the blast of water from his large jaws. While this was going on, Pidgeot quickly swooped down towards the tied up trainer, and swiped a cloud of sand into his face. The wind generated from the attack was enough to knock the sunglasses of his face, allowing the sand to blind him. This kept him from coming up with a quick counter to Ash's assault.

Croconaw ceased his actions when Crawdaunt was close enough to Pikachu and the electric mouse – who already knew what Ash had planned – immediately jumped onto Crawdaunt's back.

"Pikachu... full power Thunder attack!" Ash ordered brutally.

"Pika..." The electric mouse growled, his cheeks sparkling with furious electricity, "Chu!" A large burst of yellow electricity burst out of Pikachu's cheeks, though it looked like it came out of his entire body and Crawdaunt screeched in pain as the volts shot through its body. The sheer power and brightness of the attack forced Ash to look away. The electricity ceased after a few seconds, leaving a very burnt looking Crawdaunt and several cracks in the floor.

Pikachu jumped off Crawdaunt's back, and the Rogue Pokémon collapsed face first to the floor, unconscious.

"Darn you!" The man spat furiously, struggling to see due to the sand in his eyes. "Let me go!"

"I don't think so." Ash coolly approached him, and he reached into the man's jacket pockets. He pulled out two vials of some kind of strange liquid, and a few pages of notes. "Who are you?!" He demanded to know.

"I'm not telling you anything!" The thief growled furiously, trying to break out of the vines with no success. The sound of footsteps from behind caught his attention.

Ash smirked when he noticed the people that had just arrived on the roof, not only had the President of the Devon Corporation arrived, but so had Officer Jenny.

"This is the stuff he stole, Mr. Stone." Ash handed him the items that he had recovered from the thief. He heard a sudden painful grunt, and looking towards the door, he saw Brock on the ground, and Cacnea had been released from its Poké Ball.

"Thank you, young man." The president smiled gratefully, accepting the return of the items.

Officer Jenny immediately placed the thief in handcuffs, and Bayleef released her hold on him. With a glance at the fallen Pokémon, Officer Jenny immediately knew just who this man worked for.

"So you're a member of Team Aqua." Jenny frowned, and she handed him over to a couple of the security members. "Take him to a secure location. Wait for me there."

"Who is Team Aqua?" Ash asked Jenny as the Team Aqua grunt was dragged away.

"There an organisation that is always causing us trouble." Jenny informed him, "Pretty much all of the major crimes in the region can usually be linked back to Team Aqua or Team Magma."

"Team Aqua... and Team Magma, huh?" Ash murmured quietly, clenching his fists. So these guys were like the Team Rocket organisation. If he came across them, he vowed to take them down.

* * *

A large, muscular, dark skinned man, wearing only dark blue pants, and dark blue gloves watched the scene a few buildings over. He saw everything clearly thanks to the binoculars he was using. He snorted at the sight of the grunt getting arrested, and he pulled out a mobile phone.

"Hey boss, it looks like that fool failed in gathering the items from the Devon Corp."

"Why am I not surprised?" The gruff voice replied, "See to it that he is silenced forever."

"That won't be a problem, boss. I'll see to it, immediately." With that promise, he hung up the phone, and he focused his vision onto the trainer that had captured the grunt. "It looks like I found an interesting little egg." He smirked widely. "I have feeling that we will meet in battle someday, kid."

* * *

**The Next Morning**

* * *

Ash groaned in his sleep when he felt the sunlight hit his face. The brightness forced him up, and his eyes groggily opened. At the corner of his eye, he saw Pikachu sleeping comfortably on the pillow and Ash glared at the sunlight shining through the window. He hated when the sun woke him up before his alarm did.

Wait a minute... it was really bright outside. Ash's eyes widened, and he snapped awake. Too bright. He looked down from the top bunk at the desk where the alarm clock was, and to his horror it was flashing 04:00. There was only one explanation for this... there had been a blackout during the night. The Pokémon Centre had the backup generator, so that wouldn't be a problem, but the alarm clocks would have been reset.

"Brock!" Ash shouted loudly, waking everyone up.

* * *

**Rustboro Port – 9:30am**

* * *

"Wasn't your plan to prevent this from happening, Ash?" Max teased Ash. The kid was no longer in despair thanks to the scientists at the Devon Corporation for fixing the PokéNav. May never knew that it had been broken.

The group were all at the edge of the road, right in front of the ocean, looking on miserably as the ferry that was supposed to take them to Dewford Island sailed away.

"Pika, pika." The electric mouse shook his head, sympathetically, while on Ash's shoulder. His trainer tried so hard to make a ferry without any problems.

"I! Do! Not! Like! Ferries!" Ash growled through his tightly gritted teeth. Why did this always have to happen?

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it then please review it. If you don't like it, then don't read it!**

* * *

**I know I skipped over the aftermath of the robbery, but that will be shown in the next chapter.**

* * *

**Misty returned in this chapter. It wasn't planned, my muse simply had it happened. This was mainly just to tie off the side story where Agent Joy inspected the Cerulean Gym. Also a little Pokeshipping moment for all you Pokeshipping fans out there. That will probably be the only Pokeshipping moment in the story, so don't get your hopes up. This is firmly Advanceshipping.**

* * *

**I've had some good suggestions for the dance that Feraligatr will do, but I haven't made up my mind yet, so keep them coming. At the moment, I'm leaning towards The Archsage's suggestion.**

* * *

**As for Ash's Mega-Evolution, it's really down to Sceptile and Pidgeot, with Sceptile currently in the lead. So keep the votes coming.**

* * *

**Next Chapter will be released on the 22****nd**** of February.**

* * *

**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**C: **__I __saw one fic where Feraligatr would tap a foot and snap is fingers to an unheard beat while bobbing his head._

_**R: **__Yeah, it's in the story: 'When One Ends' by Souljah and a Gentleman._

_**Q:**__ I'm happy to see Totodile evolved to Croconaw. Who doesn't love that little fella?_

_**A:**__ He is one of my favourite of Ash's Pokémon, and it was hard to evolve him, but it was necessary for the plot._

_**Q:**__ While you are at it, what about the Lati Twins? Will Ash caught at least one of them?_

_**A:**__ At the minute, I don't have any plans to include them._

_**Q:**__ Is Ash getting some dirty thoughts about May from Brock's talk with him?_

_**A:**__ Now that he has been assured that what he is feeling is all natural, thanks to the talk with Brock, he is doing what all thirteen year old boys do when they see a girl they're attracted to._

_**Q:**__ Maybe he could now use his weight to learn Ground-type attacks, such as Earthquake, Magnitude or Bulldoze?_

_**A:**__ He won't be able to use moves like those until he becomes a Feraligatr. _

_**Q:**__ I also would like to see Brock with Croagunk and maybe a girlfriend?_

_**A:**__ I'm not revealing anything about the possibility of Brock getting Croagunk. As for a girlfriend, he may have some luck._

_**Q:**__ I mean think about do really see Charizard finding out about Mega Evolution and not hunting down one or both of the Mega Stones. I mean it is like you said he was not happy about his fight with Blaziken in the Silver Conference, and has trained intensely. Do you really think he would not try to Mega Evolve especially if one of Ash's other Pokémon beat him to it?_

_**A:**__ It's an interesting thought. It really depends on the way I portray Charizard. He could go two ways, desiring to Mega Evolve, or his pride not allowing a temporary boost in power. If – most likely when – I do decide to start writing the sequel, this will be a major plot issue._

_**Q:**__ Will May use some of Ash's battle skills to help her with her contests?_

_**A:**__ Yes, she will._

_**Q:**__ Are team magma and aqua coming out of your story with the whole Groudon and Kyogre scene? And also are you going to include some movies during the journey?_

_**A:**__ Those two Legendaries will definitely be drawn out. I intend to put my own spin onto it. As for the movies, no, the only movies in the Advanced Generation that I am interested in doing is during the Battle Frontier saga._

_**Q:**__ Since you said didn't like how Unova turned out, might I suggest that you rewrite it how you wish to be? I've wondered about Mega-Charizard vs. Dragonite._

_**A:**__ Perhaps I will one day, but not at the moment. As for Mega-Charizard vs. Dragonite, Ash's Charizard would destroy Iris's Dragonite without Mega Evolution, or that's what should have happened._


	9. Onwards to Dewford Island

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

****Knuckle Badge arc****** – ****Chapter 9 – Onwards to Dewford**

* * *

Speeding through the crystal blue ocean, on the way to Dewford was a Wingull shaped boat. Behind the head of the Wingull was the Ship's Wheel, and below it, on the back was a small decking area.

Ash leant against the edge of the decking area, examining the different looking Poké Ball in his hand. It had been a gift from Mr. Stone as a thank you for stopping the Team Aqua Grunt. In fact, Mr. Stone had given them all one of these improved Poké Balls, even Max. Of course, the youngest in the group couldn't use it until he was registered, but he appreciated the gift nonetheless.

"A Great Ball, huh?" Ash murmured curiously, observing the ball that has a blue top and a white bottom, as well as the horizontal black ring and two red sections. "We've never had one of these before have we, Pikachu?" He asked the electric mouse that was perched on his shoulder.

"Pika!"

Ash had seen these advanced types of Poké Balls in the stores throughout his journey. Seeing the Great Balls and Ultra Balls in the stores had always interested but they were just far too expensive for him to buy. Now he had one in his possession. Now that he had one, it reminded him and Brock of some other special kinds of Poké Balls that they possessed. Ash had admittedly forgotten all about his remaining ball from Kurt. He had a Fast Ball and Brock still had a Heavy Ball.

"What are you thinking about, Ash?" Brock called out, causing Ash to turn around to see his friend approach him, with a curious look on his face.

"Just examining my Great Ball." Ash answered easily. "Do you still have the Heavy Ball that Kurt gave you?"

Brock looked surprised at the question before he nodded, "Yeah, I haven't had the need to use it."

Ash put his right hand in his pocket, touching the fast ball he had in there, and he was reminded of Gary's words.

'_Most of your Pokémon are quick and hard hitters Ash. That is the way that you like to battle. You use a fast but powerful offensive strategy. Apart from Snorlax, you don't have any Pokémon that can slow the tempo and grind a long and hard win.'_

"Hey Brock, how would you feel about swapping my Fast Ball for your Heavy Ball?" Ash asked him.

Brock was startled by the question, "Why the sudden desire?"

"Something that Gary pointed out to me."Ash shook his head, "I have enough quick and athletic type of Pokémon, don't you think?"

Brock immediately understood what Ash was talking about, and he was impressed by the young trainer's thinking. "What happened to you, Ash?" The upcoming Pokémon Breeder suddenly asked him, "You've changed a fair bit since I came back. You're thinking things through more carefully than you usually do."

"Gary pointed a few things out to me." Ash shrugged, not really interested in getting into it. He looked over to where the captain of the small ship was standing, "Hey, Mr. Briney, how long until we reach Dewford Island?"

"Not long," The elderly captain replied, looking down at the young man. The captain had a bald head, and a thick white beard and moustache. "If we keep up this pace then we should get there by nightfall."

It had been a fortunate break for them all when May stumbled upon the elderly Captain Briney. If she hadn't, then it would have been a couple of days before the next ferry left for Dewford Island. However the elderly captain had been happy to give them a ride and Ash couldn't have been more grateful for the lift. He had to admit, he preferred to go on a small ship like this than one of the large ferries.

The young Trainer from Pallet Town looked over at the others on the boat and at the Pokémon that had been released from the confines of their Poké Balls. Pidgeot, Taillow, and Noctowl were happily soaring through the sky, the three of them relishing the chance to fly high over the sea. Mr. Briney's Wingull, Peeko, was flying with them. Bayleef was curled up in the bottom right corner of the decking area, loving the shine and heat radiating down at her from the sun. Croconaw was easily able to keep up with the speeding boat, swimming happily in the ocean for the first time in his life. Pikachu jumped down off Ash's shoulder and hurried over to Torchic and Wurmple. Brock's Forretress and Lotad were near Bayleef, both sleeping peacefully.

"The sun feels so great!" May said happily, stretching her arms high above her head.

"I know!" Max grinned at his sister, "How do you feel about going swimming with me?!"

"That sounds great!" May declared happily.

"If all of you lot want to go swimming, I know of a great little island that is perfect for a swim. Secluded, not many people go to it." Mr. Briney informed them.

"Whoa!" Ash immediately objected, "Let's not forget that I have an important Gym battle waiting for me! Right, Pikachu?" Ash turned to his faithful partner confidently, only for his face to fall when he realised that Pikachu had fallen asleep against the decking wall.

"It looks like Pikachu wants to have some relaxation instead of a Gym battle." May informed Ash smugly.

"You know, I think May could be onto something." Brock agreed with the young girl.

Ash looked at him with a betrayed look, amusing the Pokémon Breeder.

"Let's not forget, Ash." Max lectured the older teen, "That you and your Pokémon worked extremely hard in your battle with Roxanne. Being the great Pokémon Trainer that you are, you shouldn't have to push yourself too hard. It will take a lot more than a little swim to stop you from conquering the Hoenn League."

A few weeks ago, that kind of buttering up would have worked, but after the words from Gary, and the memory of his battle with Norman, Ash wasn't going to fall for it. He was still far behind the level that he and his Pokémon needed to be if they wanted to win the Hoenn League. Ash opened his mouth to swiftly retort but May added in her own input.

"That's right, Ash!" May agreed with her little brother, and she looked at him with a slight pout, eyes begging for him to say yes. "I really want to test out my new swimsuit!"

The retort died in Ash's throat. With slightly wide eyes, imagining the prospect of May in less clothing, Ash faked a reluctant sigh, "Alright, alright. I guess one little swim won't hurt."

"Hooray!" May and Max cheered simultaneously.

'_My plan worked perfectly.'_ Max smugly thought, thinking that he had been the one to convince Ash.

"Sounds like it has been decided. Preparing to change course!" Mr. Briney declared, spinning the ship's wheel counter clockwise. "Hard to port!"

It took twenty minutes for the small island that the elderly captain had been heading towards came into view. It was a small island, with a large beach and a small forest of trees. The island was completely surrounded by uninhabited mountains, except for a fifty metre wide gap that allowed entry into the island.

"It's coming into view!" Mr. Briney yelled out to the group, his voice waking Pikachu from his slumber.

The electric mouse hurried over, and leaped onto Ash's shoulder, startling the trainer slightly.

"Pika pi!"

Ash pulled his hat back slightly that had fallen forward slightly when Pikachu made contact. "Hey, buddy. Enjoy your nap?"

"Pika!" Ash's faithful companion nodded.

"See that Island!" Ash pointed straight at the island they were heading towards, "We're going to take a break and going swimming on that Island. That'll be fun, won't it, pal?"

"Pikachu!" The electric mouse squeaked in delight.

As they headed closer to the island, they weren't aware of a dark shape in the water following them. Croconaw was swimming far up ahead, closing in on the island and didn't see it.

"Excuse me, Captain Briney." Brock looked up at the captain, after looking through his Hoenn Guide Book. May had gone inside of the cabin to change into her swimsuit, while Ash, Max and Pikachu continued to observe the island curiously. "But what is the name of this island?"

"This island has no name, Brock." Captain Briney responded cheerfully, as the boat pulled into the shallower waters close to the island, coming to a stop. "You won't be able to find it in any book. I discovered it by chance long ago when I was a young sailor out on my own for the first time. I sneak out here every now and again just for fun, but would you believe that when I am not at sea, I forget about this place entirely."

"Ta-da!" May cheered, bursting through the cabin door, showing everyone the new suit that she was wearing. It was a pink one piece swimsuit with several small red and larger yellow circles overlapping.

Ash immediately felt his face heat up as he checked out his female friend. He did his best to be discreet while looking over her developing curves. Ash's eyes were drawn to her breasts before immediately looking away, remembering Amy's advice. However he couldn't help but look back drawn to her backside when she spun around. It was slightly larger, and plumper compared to Misty's and Ash couldn't decide which he preferred.

The young Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town was forced to turn away from everyone and he leaned against the edge of the boat, hiding a part of him that would have been embarrassing if someone had noticed it. He hated these changes with his body, everything used to be so much simpler.

May didn't hesitate to jump off the boat and into the water, loving the feel of the cool water on this warm day. "Come on in guys!" May shouted encouragingly.

"Coming through!" Max yelled as he pushed past Ash and Brock in nothing but his green swim shorts and he jumped into the ocean. Immediately the two siblings began splashing each other, laughing happily.

"We should go in as well." Brock suggested to his young friend.

"Yep!" Ash grinned, and he signalled to the cabin door. "Go get your swim gear on first."

Brock didn't get the chance to change, as a dual scream pierced his ears, along with Ash's and they both looked out to where May and Max had been swimming. To their horror, they saw May and Max clutching each other tightly, pure fear reflected on their faces as they were surrounded by a large group of dark blue torpedo-shaped shark-like Pokémon. They had large mouths filled with triangular, sharp teeth. Each pair of eyes had a malice, and hungry look in them as they stared at their prey.

"Sharpedo!" Captain Briney yelled out, horrified. "Where did they all come from?!"

"Help, Mr. Briney!" May and Max pleaded, clutching their eyes tightly closed.

"Quick! Grab Peeko's legs!" The elderly captain ordered swiftly.

Peeko quickly shot down towards May and Max, rolling in mid air to avoid one of the Sharpedo that had tried to tackle him, and he stopped just above May and Max. The moment that he was within reach, May and Max each grabbed onto one of Wingull's legs. Peeko struggled to climb up a few feet into the air after they grabbed on and he slowly flew towards the ship, the weight of them both far too much for him to ascend higher into the sky.

May and Max lifted their legs up as much as they could to avoid the Sharpedo leaping out of the water, trying to devour them. Unfortunately for Max, his legs dropped momentarily and collided into the side of one of the Sharpedo that attempted to consume him. Max screamed painfully, tears forming in his eyes as he felt some of his skin getting shaved by the rough skin from the shark Pokémon.

"Be careful!" Mr. Briney shouted, "Sharpedo have a unique trait known as Rough Skin!"

"Pidgeot! Noctowl! Taillow!" Ash called up to the Flying type Pokémon, getting their attention. Once they saw the situation – having been distracted by the freedom of the sky – the three of them immediately swooped down.

Before they arrived, a blue rocket shaped beam of water cut through the pack of Sharpedo from behind, sending a bunch of them into the air. The rocket of water followed up by flying into the air, before a Pokémon burst out of the water, with a large grin on his face.

"Croconaw!" Ash beamed at the sight of the blue crocodile. He grew concerned though when the large smile that showed off his large sharp, pointed teach fell away in a grimace of pain.

Ash immediately connected the dots, full well knowing that even with the protective barrier of water, Croconaw had still be affected by the Sharpedo's Rough Skin. Not to mention that he had hit a good amount of them, although Ash was sure that some of the shark Pokémon had simply been sent flying from the force of the water being torn up from the power of Croconaw's Aqua Jet. Even so, Croconaw must have received a large amount of damage, and with a closer look, Ash saw that the blue crocodile Pokémon did have a large amount of bruises, and shaved skin. Yet despite all of the pain Croconaw had received, he was still waiting for Ash's orders as he fell back towards the ocean.

"Scatter them with Hydro Pump!" Ash swiftly ordered.

Croconaw released his most powerful water attack from his powerful jaws, and the spinning tornado beam of water smashed into the ocean, sending a large wave in all directions. This gave May and Max a clear path to the boat, and Peeko gained some extra help when he felt a pair of talons clutch his wings, preventing him from flying.

Wingull looked up to see that Pidgeot was carrying him and the two humans holding onto him and with ease, Pidgeot dropped them onto the decking area of the small boat.

Ash noticed one of the Sharpedo that hadn't been affected by Croconaw's assault, and it was simply sitting back and watching the proceedings. There was a clear difference between this shark Pokémon compared to the others. While the others couldn't have been larger than two metres, this one was at least two and a half metres large.

Taillow and Noctowl – who weren't as fast as Pidgeot – flew a few feet above the boat in a circle, guarding the ship from an attack by the Sharpedo.

With May and Max safely back on the boat, Ash immediately pulled out his Pokédex, and scanned the Sharpedo for information. "Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon. Sharpedo can shoot out a jet of water, allowing it to swim at 80 miles per hour. Due to their sharp fangs, they're highly feared and known as the Gangs of the Sea."

"They're dangerous Pokémon, aren't they, Pikachu?" Ash murmured to the mouse Pokémon on his shoulder.

"Pika." Pikachu growled softly, his cheeks crackling with small, sharp sparks of electricity.

"Are you two alright?!" Captain Briney addressed May and Max worriedly.

May nodded, "Anyone else up for a swim." She drawled sarcastically before gasping in horror when she noticed the state of her _new_ swimsuit. It had a few small tears in it from the spots that the Sharpedo's Rough Skin was able to briefly connected, ripping the fabric.

"Hey, you!" May jumped up, and screamed at the Sharpedo, furiously. "This suit was brand new and very expensive! How dare you rip holes into it!"

One of the Sharpedo's roared at her, turning her fury into a scream of terror, and she hurried behind Ash for protection. Brock, meanwhile, was examining the slightly shaved skin on Max's legs. "It's alright," Brock informed the boy, "You got off quite lucky. Sharpedo's Rough Skin only got you lightly; I have some ointment that will fix this right up within the next couple of days."

"Thanks, Brock." Max grunted, tentatively running his hands over his injured legs.

"We're heading to the island immediately!" Captain Briney yelled, just as majority of the Sharpedo were about to recover from Croconaw's assault. "I'd advise that you return Croconaw, Ash! They won't appreciate being hit by his attacks like that!"

Ash took his advice, and returned Croconaw back into his Poké Ball. Captain Briney drove the boat straight to the islands, the Sharpedo giving chase but the moment that the water became too shallow, the Sharpedo ceased chasing and instead began to wait until they would inevitably have to come back out.

* * *

**Isolated Island – 8:00pm**

* * *

In the middle of the beach, surrounding a small campfire, under the starry night sky were the five people that had been aboard the Wingull shaped boat. Each of them was digging into a large spread of food that Brock had prepared for dinner, and dessert. It was easily the best spread that Brock had ever cooked for May and Max, and one of the best that Ash had been treated with. All of their Pokémon were also with them, digging into their own Pokémon food.

Ash swallowed a piece of fruit, and asked, "Any ideas on what we are going to do about them?" He nodded over to the few fins they could still see in the ocean.

"It doesn't look like there are many of them out there as before." May observed hopefully, counting three fins poking out of the water.

"True," Captain Briney agreed, "but those three are just lookouts. The rest of them are probably just resting not too far from here. The moment that we try to leave, they will inform the rest of the school, and within seconds we will be surrounded again."

"Sharpedo seem like pretty smart Pokémon." Ash noted with interest, contemplating on catching one of them.

"They are." Brock nodded with a frown marring his face, "However there is something unusual with their behaviour."

"Like what?" Ash inquired curiously.

"Sharpedo are usually pretty independent Pokémon." Brock answered him, "I've never heard of them forming schools like this before."

Mr. Briney nodded, "Yes, I thought that too. Not to mention that they have worked pretty hard to trap us."

"Then I guess there is only one thing to do." Ash grinned.

"What's that?" Max questioned him.

"Did any of you notice that really large Sharpedo that just watched? It didn't make a single move to attack." Ash asked them all.

"Yes, I saw that one!" Brock remembered, "I see what you're getting at."

"What one? What are you talking about?" May demanded to know.

"Like Brock said, Sharpedo are usually independent." Ash reminded her, "So why does a group of independent Pokémon gather into a group?"

"Fear." Mr. Briney answered, gruffly. "Fear and respect."

"That's why we need to get the leader Sharpedo on its own and defeat it in battle." Ash explained simply.

"It's our only option." The Pokémon Breeder agreed with his oldest friend, "If we defeat it, not only would the other Sharpedo respect our strength, they will also fear us and possibly flee."

"It's a good theory, you two, and I believe that it can work." Mr. Briney acknowledged.

"Or they could attack us." May nervously reminded them.

"It's a risk we're going to have to take if we want to get out of here." Ash told her solemnly. "Although, Pidgeot could probably fly you and Max to Dewford Island, if you want." He offered May.

"No thanks!" Max retorted sharply, flinching in pain slightly when he moved his legs. "We're all in this together."

May agreed with her little brother and elected to stay.

"Okay," Brock grinned, "this is the plan..."

* * *

**Isolated Island – 2:30pm**

* * *

Their plan worked perfectly. They had Sharpedo right where they wanted it. By the time the afternoon had come, all of the Sharpedo had gathered in the bay, completely blocking them from leaving.

Ash stood in a large steel bucket, a rope in his hands and it was tied to Pidgeot. He also had Pikachu on his shoulder and using the flying power of Pidgeot, the bucket began sliding on top of the water. He was able to slip past the Sharpedo, and headed out towards the open sea. The purpose of this was to get most of the Sharpedo's attention, and it was successful. All but the leader of the Sharpedos swam after him. Ash also had Noctowl and Taillow flying a few feet above him, ready to defend him should the Sharpedo get to close.

The leader of the Sharpedos no doubt suspected that they were planning something and probably believed that they were using Ash as a distraction to flee.

Mr. Briney, Max and May then quickly pulled on a rope making a wooden fence that they had set up during the night and most of this morning to build slid through the water. The leader Sharpedo was completely trapped within the shallow waters close to the island.

Brock quickly went into action before Sharpedo could try and escape.

"Lotad!" Brock called out, releasing the Water/Grass type Pokémon into the ocean.

Sharpedo focused its attention onto the small blue Pokémon that had been released into the water. It has a yellow bill-like mouth and six small blue legs, although Sharpedo couldn't see the legs. It also has a lily pad on his back.

Lotad didn't move, content to simply float in the water. The blank stare on his face didn't change, even at the sight of the incoming shark not enough to break it.

"Use Water Gun, Lotad!"

The Water Weed Pokémon didn't respond as Sharpedo closed in. The speed of the Sharpedo impressed Brock.

Beginning to fear for his Lotad, Brock repeated his order, desperation lacing his voice. "Lotad use Water Gun!"

Lotad still didn't listen, and just waited for Sharpedo to get closer. When it was close enough, Sharpedo open its jaws, revealing its long sharp teeth, drool dripping off them and the sight finally caught Lotad's attention. Just as Sharpedo prepared to sink his teeth into Lotad's flesh, its top jaw was slammed back from the burst of water that Lotad suddenly unleashed at the last second. The force had smashed into the inside of his upper jaw and Sharpedo flipped back painfully into the water.

While it's body was upside down, revealing that it had a white fin and underbelly, Brock quickly ordered, internally hoping that Lotad would listen straight away. "Use Absorb!"

The lily pad on Lotad's back was enveloped in a dark red energy before a thin beam of said energy shot out towards Sharpedo. The moment that it struck the underbelly of the large Sharpedo, it spread and encased the Brutal Pokémon. Lotad was only able to drain the Water/Dark type Pokémon's energy for a few seconds, before Sharpedo broke away, diving into the water.

Only a few seconds later, the water around Lotad began to swirl, in a clockwise direction, confusing the Water Weed Pokémon.

"Get out of there!" Brock yelled out urgently, but it was too late.

"'TAD!" The Water Weed Pokémon screamed, as he was sent sailing into the air, out of the ocean by a spinning beam of water, very similar to Croconaw's Hydro Pump.

"Lotad!" Brock called out worriedly. He hadn't expected Sharpedo to be able to use such an attack. He had to counter quickly, because Lotad was a sitting duck up in the air.

"Sharp!" The shark Pokémon roared, shooting out of the ocean like a missile, wrapped in barrier of water. "'Pedo!"

"Block him with Energy Ball!"

Lotad immediately began to gather a sphere of light green energy at the tip of his mouth, but he wasn't quick enough. Too inexperienced with the attack to create ball of energy and fire it within an instant. This resulted into the rocket of water slamming into the ball, forcing it into a shocked Lotad's mouth, and then followed up by ramming the body of water into Lotad's face. The fierce blow sent Lotad crashing into the sandy beach, and Sharpedo flipped backwards in mid air, diving back into the water.

"You okay?!" Brock yelled, concerned for his Pokémon.

"Lo... tad." The Water Weed Pokémon groaned, getting back up onto his feet and he shook off the sand that had been gathered on his lily pad. However Brock immediately noticed something different about his Pokémon. His lily pad had been engulfed in the same green energy that had been used to create the Energy Ball.

'_Is it because he swallowed it?'_ Brock wondered curiously, remembering that the Aqua Jet had hit the Energy Ball first, before Lotad. The Pokémon Breeder shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He would wonder about that later.

"Try another Energy Ball!" Brock immediately ordered, hoping that somehow this strange occurrence would increase Lotad's Grass type moves.

Once again, Lotad didn't obey the order, and instead just stared ahead at Sharpedo. The shark Pokémon didn't make a move either, seemingly waiting for Lotad's next attack.

Just when Brock was about to try and order Lotad to attack again, the energy enveloped Water Weed Pokémon's changed colour, becoming a pure silvery white. The bright light then proceeded to encase Lotad's entire body and Brock marvelled at the sight of his new Pokémon already evolving.

When the bright light faded away, it revealed the new form that Lotad evolved into. Standing where Lotad had been previously, was an aqua coloured bipedal Pokémon with a green pattern extending from the sides of his head down to his feet. He has stubby, round ears, and a red bill-like mouth. There is a large lily pad on his head, which has a notch in it and it resembled a sombrero. He has long arms with red fingers and a thumb on each hand.

Sharpedo narrowed its eyes, observing his new opponent with interest.

"Lombre!" The newly evolved Pokémon said happily, grinning over at his trainer.

"You evolved into a Lombre!" Brock beamed with pride, amazed at how quickly Lotad evolved considering they hadn't been together long. "Let's try another Energy Ball!"

Lombre brought his hands in front of his chest, and gathered the familiar ball of light green energy in between his hands. The energy was gathered and formed much faster than when he was a Lotad and he thrust his arms forward, firing the ball of pure grass energy at Sharpedo.

The shark Pokémon avoided the attack easily by diving under water and the ball of energy sailed past harmlessly, and crashed uselessly into the water. This didn't impede Lombre though, and the Jolly Pokémon sprinted back into the ocean, but he stayed in the shallow waters.

Brock decided to wait and see what Lombre was planning, as he had never seen his Pokémon so determined to battle before.

Lombre waited silently for Sharpedo to surface, and it was the sight of the blue shark's back fin that gave away its position before it leaped out of the water with its jaws wide open. The malicious intent in the Sharpedo's eyes frightened Brock, and he knew without a doubt that Sharpedo desired to rip Lombre into shreds.

Lombre quickly slapped his hands together, creating an invisible shock-wave that crashed in Sharpedo and it stopped the shark in its tracks.

"That was Fake Out!" Brock realised brightly, and he hurriedly took the opening. "Finish this with Energy Ball!"

Lombre grunted, gathering the ball of energy and he slammed it into Sharpedo's forehead.

"'Pedo!" The shark roared painfully, flying back into the water from the power of the Grass type attack. It floated on the ocean surface, struggling to recover from the sudden blow.

Brock seized his chance, and he threw the Fast Ball that he got from Ash. He knew without a doubt that this ball would be effective against such a speedy Sharpedo. The Fast Ball looked like a traditional Poké Ball except for a small yellow lightning bolt in the middle of the red part of the ball, and yellow half-circles on the sides of both the top and bottom halves. The Fast Ball collided into the side of the shark's body, and the traditional red energy that appeared when using any Poké Ball, enveloped Sharpedo. The Brutal Pokémon was forced inside of the Fast Ball, and the ball immediately wiggled fiercely, as Sharpedo tried desperately to break out.

Brock unfortunately didn't take into account that Sharpedo had been floating on the water surface and so when it was enveloped, it dropped into the ocean.

"You have to be kidding me!" Brock's head fell forward at the blunder. Luckily for him, Lombre was more than happy to swim into the ocean to retrieve it. Brock relaxed when Lombre appeared out of the ocean with the Fast Ball safely in his hands, and judging by the large smile on the Jolly Pokémon's face, Brock knew that he had successfully captured it.

"You were brilliant, Lombre!" Brock praised the Grass/Water type Pokémon, and he accepted the Fast Ball.

"Lombre!" Was the proud reply from the Jolly Pokémon.

* * *

**Route 106 – 6:30pm**

* * *

After Brock had captured the leader of the Sharpedos, a sight that all of the other Sharpedos had witnessed thanks to Ash doubling back. Once their leader was captured, most of the school dispersed, no longer bound by the school. The few that remained were easily chased off thanks to Pikachu, Pidgeot, Taillow, and Noctowl.

Now they were back on route, speeding along the sea approaching Dewford Island. It was late in the day when the island finally came into view. Ash looked out over the boat and marvelled at the sight of Dewford Island. The sun was setting in the sky above the island, giving it a majestic view. Ash couldn't remember the last time that he had seen such a beautiful sight.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" May whispered next to him, staring at the beautiful sunlight.

Ash glanced at her, and the sight of her face staring out at the sunset took Ash's breath away for a moment. "Yeah, it is." Ash agreed with her, looking away. At the corner of his eye, he saw Brock sitting against the cabin wall, staring intently at the Fast Ball in his hands.

"What's with that look?" Ash asked curiously, approaching the Pokémon Breeder.

"I'm wondering what to do with this Pokémon." Brock admitted, looking up at Ash. "It's a Pokémon that prefers battling in water and so a lot of the time it will just be confined to this Fast Ball. I don't think that it's fair to Sharpedo."

"That's a fair point." Ash nodded, "You can always contact Misty when we get to Dewford Island." He suggested, "Perhaps you can work out a trade. No doubt Misty would want another Water type Pokémon."

"That's an idea." Brock grinned approvingly. "Do you think that she would trade Togepi?" The Pokémon Breeder asked, jokingly.

"I think there is a better chance of her somehow punching you through the video phone." Ash laughed.

"Hey, down there!" Captain Briney called down to them from up at the Ship's Wheel. "We're almost at Dewford Island! We'll be arriving within ten minutes!"

Ash grinned appreciatively up at the captain before looking back towards Dewford Island. It was almost time for his second Gym battle,for his second Gym battle,for his second Gym battle, and he determined to win it! There was also the task of finding Mr. Stone's son, Steven. The President of the Devon Corporation informed them that Steven was somewhere here on Dewford Island and Ash really wanted to find him. It was probably more important to Ash than his Gym battle.

The chance to battle against the person that had won the most recent Ever Grande Conference and qualified to enter the Champions League was just to irresistible to pass up. However first he wanted to get a good night's rest as he and Brock were the only ones that stayed up all night the previous night working on the wooden fence.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**If you like it, then please leave a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

* * *

**In the Advance and Diamond/Pearl series, Wallace was the Champion, and Steven was just a powerful trainer. However in the recent Mega-Evolution Special #2, it is revealed that Steven is now the Champion. So that meant he had to of won it when Ash was in either Unova or Kalos. Most likely Unova. So at this stage, Steven has won the right to challenge the Champions League but hasn't yet. You can understand why Ash would be more determined to battle him over his Gym Battle.**

* * *

**It's probably a bit early for Lotad evolve, but considering that he doesn't battle much in the anime, at least to my recollection. I'll have to have another look. Also I hope you like that I brought the eating Energy Ball to gain an increase in Grass type power concept that was introduced in the Diamond/Pearl series. Although, I'm not sure if that was just a Grotle/Torterra exclusive ability. **

**Considering that in the anime, Lotad knows both Water Gun and Razor Leaf, which isn't supposed to be possible, at least in the games it isn't. I decided to replace it with Energy Ball.**

* * *

**Also I'm thinking about adding the Battle Chateau to the story, and I'm wondering about the response for that possibility? Would you prefer it to be added, as an extra way for Ash to develop his skills as a Pokémon Trainer? Or should that strictly be Kalos-only?**

* * *

**Will Brock trade the new Sharpedo that he just caught, most likely to Misty? That will be answered in the next chapter.**

* * *

**Also anyone check out Serena's new look in the anime? I don't know about the design, I'll judge it after I watch a few episodes, but I appreciate the change. None of the characters have done something like that, so it's refreshing.**

* * *

**Next Chapter to be released on the 15****th**** of March.**

* * *

**Answering the Readers:**

* * *

_**Q: **__Since you aren't doing Destiny Deoxys, will you possibly change the Battle between Groudon and Kyogre by throwing Rayquaza into the mix?_

_**A: **__Rayquaza will definitely get involved in the conflict between Groudon and Kyogre. Right now, I'm still trying to plan out just what I am going to do with those three Legendary Pokémon. I want to try and make it original, and not just some minor adjusted copy of the games or anime._

_**Q:**__ Will Ash catch more new Pokémon that he does not have in the series?_

_**A:**__ There are five more Pokémon outside of the ones that he catches in canon for him to gain. One of them is a Pokémon that he is supposed to get in Unova, but I've brought it forward because he is one of my favourites._

_**Q:**__ What about Legendaries?_

_**A:**__ Ash won't be getting any Legendary Pokémon._

_**Q:**__ Do you have any plans of 'fan-made episodes' during the course of this story?_

_**A:**__ Sorry but what do you mean by 'fan-made'?_

_**Q:**__ Do you own the Advance Series and are using them to help you with your story?_

_**A:**__ Yeah, I have them all and they're a help. However I don't intend to copy most of the episodes and simply change Ash's dim-witted behaviour. I fully intend to create my own story that is different to the canon anime._

_**Q:**__ Also, you really plan on Ash getting an Espeon?_

_**A:**__ Ash would prefer an Espeon out of all of the Eevee evolutions, but that doesn't mean he is guaranteed to get one._

_**Q:**__ Are u going to include the temple of the sea plot in this story?_

_**A:**__ That movie happens while they're in Kanto, so it will only be done if I choose to do a sequel. _

_**C:**__ I don't want to see a Ash playboy or pervert, want to see a Ash tender and cute with just a girl "May"_

_**R:**__ He won't be either of those. He will be a teen that is just starting to notice girls. It's a difficult time for him, but he will be a caring, loyal and respectable boyfriend to May. Besides, the playboy and pervert type belongs to Brock._

_**Q:**__ Since you said you were gonna focus on this and your bleach story, does that mean that your rise of a legend Pokémon story won't get updated at all or just not as frequently?_

_**A:**__ It will still be updated, as will my other stories but it will be random, and only when I find the time to do them._


	10. Patience & Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

**Knuckle Badge arc – Chapter 10 – Patience &amp; Training**

* * *

After a good night's rest inside the Pokémon Centre, Ash and Pikachu relished the warmth of the sun bearing down on them. It was another beautiful day, it must be at least 23 degrees, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"I can't wait for my next Gym battle!" Ash declared excitedly. Pikachu enthusiastically agreed with him from his position on Ash's shoulder.

"I can't wait to see another Gym battle!" Max's excitement mirrored Ash's.

"Do you know what Pokémon you will be using?" Brock inquired curiously, as the group walked along a dirt path that led to the Dewford Gym.

"Since it's a Fighting type Gym, I will use my Flying type Pokémon, obviously." Ash informed him, "I'm still trying to decide which ones I'll use. If it's a three versus three battle, then I'll simply use all three of them. If it's less, then I'll use Noctowl. He's got the most variety of attacks, especially long range moves and his Psychic moves will be useful, even if he can't use them to their full potential. And I'll probably pick Taillow; he hasn't fought in a Gym before."

"Wouldn't Pidgeot be a stronger choice?" May wondered.

"Considering that Pidgeot got towed up by dad, I'd say Ash still has a lot of work to do training Pidgeot." Max smirked, clearly remembering how easily his father defeated Ash's Pidgeot. Ash was a good trainer, but he would never be able to defeat his father. Ash would have to find another, less popular Gym in order to get all eight Gym Badges.

Ash frowned, remembering that embarrassing loss. Norman had made him look like an amateur training with little experience. Despite that, how much training had he actually done with Pidgeot? He had prepared his Pokémon for the Rustboro Gym by teaching them Iron Tail, but what had he done to prepare for this Gym? Nothing. He was just rushing towards another Gym battle, with no preparation whatsoever.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Brock asked his oldest friend, seeing the young teen stop in the middle of the road. Ash had his arms folded across his chest, and a thoughtful look marred his face.

There was also a Pokémon Contest in Slateport in just little over a month, and Ash had yet to begin helping May prepare for it, like he had promised. Now that he thought about it, he would always rush to a Gym whenever he would reach the town, and although he won most of them, sometimes it had been from pure luck and fortune. Whenever he had lost, it was because he had never been prepared to counter the unique tactics of the Gym Leaders.

Perhaps he would be better off waiting for a couple of weeks, to train his Flying type Pokémon, especially Pidgeot. He really needed to get back in sync with her, and perhaps teach her and Taillow some long range attacks before taking on the Dewford Gym. Noctowl was the only one of his Flying type Pokémon that was capable of using powerful long ranged Flying type attacks, and there was no doubt that Noctowl could teach Pidgeot and Taillow these moves. There was no way basic Flying type moves like Gust or Whirlwind would be effective as the strongest long range attacks. The Gym Leader will no doubt have counters in place to counter such basic and common moves. Over his journeys through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto, Ash finally began to understand the right way to train his Pokémon.

Training Pokémon wasn't as simple as the Pokémon learning new moves as they levelled up. If under the right tutelage, a Pokémon can learn any move that it is capable of learning at any time. Under the right circumstances, a Taillow could possibly learn Air Slash before Wing Attack.

Yes, Ash would wait. He was going to train his Pokémon properly, and he was determined to never lose to a Gym Leader here in Hoenn again.

"Ash!"

Ash snapped out of his thoughts and he looked at Brock, May and Max blankly. All three of them were standing a few feet in front of him, looking back at him with a mix of emotions.

Brock looked confused, and who could blame him? He had never seen Ash think of anything else other than his Gym battle and he always had a childish excitement when heading to the Gym. Brock had never seen Ash look so serious and thoughtful before a Gym battle.

Max had a very impatient look on his face, and he had been the one that had shouted Ash's name to snap him out of his thoughts. The young boy really wanted to hurry and get to the Gym so he could see his official second Gym battle.

May had a more concerned look on her face. Just a few moments ago, Ash had been incredibly excited about his upcoming Gym battle, and then suddenly his demeanour had changed.

"What's up?" Ash asked them.

"Why are you standing around?!" Max exclaimed in disbelief, "Let's hurry to the Dewford Gym!"

"Yeah... about that," Ash grinned sheepishly, "I think I'll postpone my Gym battle."

"WHAT?!" Max shouted incredulously, and May couldn't hide her surprise at Ash's sudden change of heart. Surprise flashed across Brock's face for a moment before settling on understanding.

"There's no rush." Ash shrugged, "The Pokémon Contest in Lilycove that May wants to enter is over a month away, and it will take us roughly two days to get there on ship from here. I say we enjoy our time here on the island for a couple of weeks, maybe look for Mr. Stone's son, Steven."

"You have a point, Ash." Brock grinned at him, becoming further impressed with Ash's maturity. "This is a big island, plenty of places to explore and no doubt that a battle with Mr. Stone's son would be incredibly beneficial."

Max deflated, his shoulders lowered and he bent his back. "I really wanted to see another Gym battle." He said feeling depressed at Ash's decision. However he immediately brightened up at the thought of Ash battling a winner of the Ever Grande Conference. "Let's go find Steven then!"

"Calm down." Ash grinned at the sudden enthusiasm Max showed, "I have other things to do today. May, do you want to come with me?"

"Me?" May pointed to herself, startled by the sudden question. "Sure, but what for?"

"I'm going to train some of my Flying Pokémon, and I promised that I would help you prepare for your Pokémon Contest." Ash reminded her.

"You can come with me, Max." Brock placed a hand on the boy's right shoulder, "I'll show you how to clean a Forretress. It may come in handy for you someday."

"That sounds great!" Max said happily.

* * *

**Clearing – 12:45pm**

* * *

It didn't take Ash and May long to find a small clearing, filled with short grass, and many scattered small boulders lying on the grass. There were also a couple of large and small trees in the clearing. May watched with interest as Ash's Noctowl instructed Pidgeot and Taillow on how to use the move, Air Slash. Ash's other Pokémon, Pikachu, Bayleef and Croconaw were doing mock battles with each other. Ash was currently sitting on a boulder observing Noctowl teaching his other Flying type Pokémon.

"Okay shall we begin, May?"

May turned to Ash, a confused look on her face. "Shouldn't you be training your Pokémon?"

"There's no need, they don't need my help right now." Ash grinned at her. "I don't really know how to teach Pidgeot and Taillow Air Slash, but my Noctowl is quite intelligent. More intelligent than any other Noctowl that I have ever seen. He doesn't need my help teaching them."

"Okay!" May said brightly, pulling out her Poké Balls, "I have come up with my entrance! Watch!"

Ash watched with a raised eyebrow as May did some sort of dance, and cheer, and she released her Torchic and Wurmple before finishing in a T-shape pose, with her hands behind her head. However her Pokémon didn't seem to understand what she was trying to do as Torchic began running in circles around May and Wurmple was more interested in searching for food.

May chuckled sheepishly, "I think we still need some more practise."

"..." Ash didn't say anything for a second, startled by May's 'performance.' "What was that?" He finally asked her.

"That's supposed to be my entrance." May informed him, "It will be better when I get Torchic and Wurmple to come out of their Poké Balls with better poses."

Ash chuckled, "May, are you aware on whether the Slateport Pokémon Contest allows two Pokémon or is just the one used?"

"Ah..." May rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "No, I don't know."

"From what Brock told me about Pokémon Contests, – as I missed the one back in Rustboro – it's about showing off your Pokémon, not the coordinator." Ash explained to her, "I don't really know how to help you with your appeals round, but I can help with the rounds that come after. First, I will need to teach you how to battle regularly, kind of like how I do. Then we'll work on how to battle according to the Pokémon Contest style."

"Right, battling." May murmured nervously.

"Don't worry," Ash assured her, standing up off the boulder, "It will be easier to learn battling with a friend." He looked over to his Pokémon doing a mock battle. Currently, Bayleef and Croconaw were sparring and Pikachu, with his back facing him, seemed to be refereeing. "Pikachu!" Ash called out and he knew that the electric mouse could hear him, as his ears straightened above his head, "Come over here!"

Pikachu spun around and scurried over to his trainer and best friend's side. "Pika, pika?!" The electric rodent inquired his trainer with a curious tilt of his head.

"We'll start with Torchic." Ash decided, and he waved his hand in a sweeping motion across his chest, "Use your Pokédex to see and learn Torchic's moves. You can have the first move."

"Okay." May agreed with a hint of nerves still in her voice. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Ash. Pulling up Torchic's moves in her Pokédex, May called out her first move, "Torchic, use Ember!"

Torchic, eager to obey her trainer, let out a barrage of bullets from her beak. However Ash could see that the move was still in its infancy as Ash wasn't impressed by the amount of fireballs that Torchic could fire at once. Even Pikachu, who had a low defence and special defence, wouldn't be bothered by that attack. However, this exercise wasn't about proving the astonishing gap between May's Pokémon and his.

"Dodge it, Pikachu."

Pikachu lazily jumped to the left on all fours, evading the attack with ease and the balls of fire sailed harmlessly into a boulder, breaking on the surface of the stone. Ash noticed that it barely managed to make a crack onto the metre long boulder, and he knew that first thing he would have May's Torchic do.

"Try another."

"Try using Peck!" May ordered.

Torchic charged straight towards Pikachu with her beak pointed out in front, intending to pierce it into the electric mouse. Ash sighed at the sight. Whenever a Pokémon used a proficient Peck attack, the beak of the Pokémon would be enveloped in a white light and it would extend. The longer it extended, the stronger the attack. Torchic's beak didn't even glow.

"Dodge it again." Ash calmly ordered Pikachu.

The electric mouse waited until Torchic was close enough before he flipped over the Chick Pokémon, landing a few feet behind her. Torchic immediately skidded to a stop.

For the next few minutes, Ash continued to make May order attacks and soon she knew all of Torchic's moves without the need of her Pokédex. Of course, Torchic wasn't able to land a single blow on Pikachu, much to May's frustration, but it was to be expected. What pleased Ash the most however was the longer the battle went, the more May seemed to get into it.

Eventually when Torchic had to be returned back to her Poké Ball because she had used up all of her energy battling, Ash instructed her to battle with Wurmple. This time, May was able to do something that impressed Ash. After only a glance at Wurmple's moves, May pocketed her Pokédex. It seemed that May was starting to become more interested in battling.

That was what Ash had intended. If May wanted to be a Pokémon Coordinator, then she needed to enjoy Pokémon Battling. Getting her to like it was the first step. The next was to get her confident at it. That will come later. After five minutes of battling, Wurmple eventually collapsed from exhaustion, and like Torchic, she was unable to land a single hit on the speedy electric mouse.

"Thanks Wurmple." May said sadly, returning her back into her Poké Ball.

"That was good." Ash praised her, startling her, and her head whipped up to face his, shock plastered on it. She hadn't even been able to hit Pikachu once! How was that good?

"No it wasn't." May denied with a shake of her head, "I couldn't even land a hit on you."

"It wasn't about landing a hit." Ash grinned reassuringly, as he approached her, after giving Pikachu a quick rub behind the ear in appreciation. "You achieved what I hoped."

"What's that?" May inquired with a puzzled frown.

Ash placed his right hand on her left shoulder, and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "Did you enjoy it?" He asked her. "Did you like how your Pokémon obeyed you? How they're willing to fight for you?"

May looked down for a moment, and thought about what had just been asked. The answer surprised her. "Yes, I did." She quietly answered.

"It's what I love." Ash grinned at her, "I love being able to raise Pokémon and make them stronger than they had thought possible. However there is a serious responsibility in becoming a Pokémon Trainer, Breeder, Coordinator, Research and any other jobs involving Pokémon."

"What's that?" May breathed in awe, staring into his eyes. Her breath was taken away by the passion radiating in Ash's eyes.

"Your Pokémon is going to battle for you. They're going to get hurt for you. They're your friends, not tools for you to use. They feel pain just as much as we do. Please, don't ever forget that. No matter what!" Ash demanded with the love of not only his own Pokémon, but for all Pokémon powering his voice.

"I won't ever forget." May promised him sincerely, staring into his eyes, hoping that the same passion and determination burned in her eyes like they did his.

"Good." Ash grinned in relief and delight. Suddenly he realised just how close they were standing next to each other. He could feel her breath touch his lips, and her chest was a few millimetres from his. At some point, the hand that he had placed on her shoulder was now down to the centre of her back. He quickly stepped back, breaking the contact.

"That's all we'll do today." Ash informed her, with a slight blush on his face. "Let your Pokémon rest, and tomorrow, I'll help you make them stronger. Once we build up their power, then we'll start battling the way that Pokémon Coordinators should."

"That's great!" May exclaimed cheerfully.

* * *

**Pokémon Centre – 2:30pm**

* * *

Brock sat on a cushioned chaired, grinning at the sight of Max feeding his Pokémon. They had finished cleaning Forretress an hour ago, and now he left Max responsible for feeding his Pokémon. It was a responsibility that Max was eager to comply. Now he sat in front of a video phone, punching in the number to connect him to the Cerulean Gym.

His face brightened when he saw that it was Misty in her usual clothing that had picked up the phone. "Hey, Mist!" He greeted her happily.

"Brock! It's great to see you!" Misty exclaimed in delight, glad to see her old friend again.

"You too." Brock nodded, "Ash told me all about your troubles at the Cerulean Gym and how you conquered them. I'm really impressed!"

"Thanks, Brock." Misty blushed lightly at the praise, sticking her tongue out slightly. "What about over there in Hoenn? I've heard about their amazing beaches! Have you been to one? Is it as beautiful as I've heard?!"

"Loving it here in Hoenn, so far." Brock gave her a wide grin, "We're on Dewford Island right now, and the beach is truly lovely. I've only seen it a little, yet to experience it fully but from the glance that I saw, no wonder it has such a good reputation. And don't get me started on the beautiful girls wearing swimsuits! It's heaven! Speaking of beautiful girls in swimsuits, are your sisters home by any chance?"

Misty glowered at him, folding her arms across her chest angrily, "No, they aren't. I told you that they were going on an around-the-world trip, remember?"

"That's right." Brock chuckled sheepishly, "They won a beauty contest or something, correct?"

"They came in third." Misty replied stiffly, clearly not enjoying the conversation about her sisters.

"Hard to imagine what first place must have won." Brock mused, causing Misty to grit her teeth.

"So how're things going at the Gym?" Brock hurriedly changed subjects, "Any challengers providing a challenge for you?"

"Yeah, they're been a few." Misty admitted, "And there was one trainer that I battled yesterday that was truly a talented trainer."

"Really?" Brock asked curiously. It was rare for Misty to give such praise.

"He defeated three of my Pokémon with only two of his, and I didn't knock any of them out." Misty revealed, "He was certainly skilled but he seriously lacks the care of his Pokémon. He was like the opposite of Ash."

"Hard to imagine." Brock murmured, "What's his name?"

"Paul, from Veilstone City, in the Sinnoh region." Misty answered, "Right now he is taking on the Indigo League, so I seriously doubt that you will meet him anytime soon, but be careful should you meet him. He is the kind of guy that will easily be able to get under Ash's skin."

"I'll keep it in mind." Brock nodded, "However, I should get onto the real reason why I called you, Mist."

"I'm listening."

"I recently caught a Sharpedo." Brock informed her, but before he could continue, he was interrupted by an excited squeal from Misty.

"Professor Oak has given me all the information that he knows about the Water type Pokémon from Hoenn!" Misty declared excitedly, "And out of them all, Sharpedo is the one of the ones that I want the most! Sharpedo and Milotic! Although, admittedly, I want them all, but still, you're so lucky, Brock!"

"That's why I'm calling, Misty." Brock quickly told her when she had to stop to breathe. "In order to battle effectively with Sharpedo, there needs to be a pool of water of some kind. Also because I'm travelling through Hoenn, there are going to be a lot times when there will be no water around, and so he will be confined to its ball. I was hoping that you might want to trade for it. I could send it to my mother, but I think he will be better off with you. Sharpedo would be far happier there, I'd imagine."

Misty practically had stars in her eyes, "I'd be delighted to Brock!"

"Have you got a long range transporter at your Gym?" Brock questioned her.

"Yeah, we've got one." Misty replied, "Now I just have to decide what Pokémon to send you."

"I'm not really fussed." Brock hastily informed her, "I'm just trying to do what's best for Sharpedo."

"I've got two Pokémon to choose from." Misty admitted with a frown, "Lily and Violet each won an egg a few weeks ago, and they hatched only a few days after they got them. However neither are Water type Pokémon, and so, kind of like your Sharpedo, they're out of place here."

"If they're your sisters Pokémon, are you even allowed to trade one of them?" Brock asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My sisters have pretty much given up on everything to do with Pokémon." Misty rolled her eyes, "They're more interested in their water ballet, and fame. They gave the two Pokémon to me. I was planning to eventually give them to Professor Oak in exchange for two of his own personal Water type Pokémon, but I'll be happy to trade one to you."

"What Pokémon are they?" Brock inquired curiously.

"They're both baby Pokémon," Misty informed him, "One is a Magby, and the other is a Tyrogue."

"A Fire type and a Fighting type, huh?" Brock leaned back on his chair slightly, surprised by the two Pokémon on offer, "They're pretty rare Pokémon, and they evolve into some pretty strong Pokémon. Need I remind you of Blaine's Magmar? Are you sure you want to trade them?"

Misty nodded firmly, "They will be happier either with you or Professor Oak, far more than they'll be here. Which one do you want?"

Brock looked thoughtful for a few minutes, before finally giving her his answer. With both Pokémon being babies, Brock had a sudden idea. "I think I'll take both of them, if that's okay with you."

"Both?" Misty was surprised at his answer, "I'm not against giving you them, but why the sudden desire?"

"One of the two companions that we have travelling with us is a nine year old boy, eager to start his own Pokémon Journey, but obviously, he still has to wait another year." Brock answered her, "It would be a good learning experience and responsibility for him to raise a baby Pokémon for the next year before he starts his Pokémon Journey."

"I'd be happy too Brock but you know the obvious problem here." Misty reminded him, "I can't use the transporter to send you both of them without getting two back."

Brock nodded, "I'll spend the next few days trying to catch another Water type Pokémon." He informed her, "Mind telling me which ones you've got?"

Misty was more than happy to tell him.

* * *

**Clearing – 5:30pm**

* * *

May had returned to the Pokémon some hours ago, while Ash remained in the clearing to train and bond more with his Pokémon. Fortunately, Ash had packed a lunch that he shared with May and their Pokémon, but right now, he was starting to get hungry again. Currently all of his Pokémon were either lying on the grass, or perched on a tree branch, exhausted from the day's training.

Pidgeot and Taillow had made some progress in learning Air Slash. They were both good enough to begin forming the energy for the attack. Taillow gathered the energy in a similar way to Noctowl, forming it into a ball above his head but he couldn't manage to throw it yet. The moment Taillow released the attack, it dispersed into the air.

Pidgeot, on the other hand, formed the energy along her wings, and threw it in the form of light blue saw disc-like energy blades. However the attack was currently so weak that they barely cut through the ground. It would be useless they wait it was now.

Pikachu was building on his speed, and Ash was determined to teach him Double Team. His most beloved companion's greatest advantage was his speed and his biggest weakness was his defence. By the time the Ever Grande Conference came around, he was going to make sure Pikachu was so fast that he would be almost impossible to hit. Although he would prefer Pikachu being so fast that he couldn't be hit, but that wouldn't be realistic.

Bayleef was in the process of learning Energy Ball. Similar to Taillow, she could gather and form the ball of energy, but she was having trouble releasing it.

Croconaw had just practised his Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet, trying to improve both the power and speed of his attacks.

All in all, Ash thought it had been a successful day of training, and it was time to stop for the night. His Pokémon would get some food and a good night sleep. Also he decided to send Croconaw back to Professor Oak's for either Heracross or Cyndaquil. For the next few weeks, while he trained Pidgeot, Noctowl, and Taillow, he was going to rotate Bayleef, Treecko, Cyndaquil, Kingler, Poochyena, Seviper, Electrike, Phanpy, Tauros, Muk, Snorlax and Heracross a lot. His goal was for them all to learn at least one new move before he took on the Dewford Gym. He would inform Croconaw to continue his training to improve his Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet at Professor Oak's.

Perhaps it was time also for Ash to inquire about some of his other Pokémon that were off training with other specialist. There was one Pokémon that he hadn't communicated with in a while. Ash fingered his hat. He had the feeling that he would lose this hat to that Pokémon when they hopefully met again.

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**End of Chapter**

**If you like it, then please leave a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**

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**This was an important chapter for Ash's development. Whenever he reaches a town with a Gym, he always rushes in without preparing. He isn't going to do that anymore. Before every Gym, he is going to prepare intensively.**

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**Also I have closed the poll on Ash's Mega-Evolution, and the winner is: Sceptile!**

**I'm putting up one about whether or not I should include the Battle Chateau. So please take the time to vote after reading the chapter.**

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**I hope you like Max gaining a baby Pokémon to raise along the journey, but the real question is, which one should he get? Magby or Tyrogue? Brock will obviously get the other. So, I'm going to let you readers decide. I'm not fussed on which one either get. So please review and let me know.**

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**Answering the Readers:**

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_**Q:**__ When will drew be in a chapter and will you put your own spin on that meeting or will you be doing it like the anime shown the meeting?_

_**A:**__ A bit of both, to be honest. Since Team Rocket won't be getting involved, there will automatically be changes compared to the episode. _

_**Q:**__ Will Ash start training soon and if so will he want to train by himself but at the same time have his Pokémon at the oaks lab train to or only when there with him?_

_**A:**__ Does this chapter answer that? He will begin training all of his Pokémon a lot more before he battles a Gym. All of his Pokémon that aren't currently getting specialist training from someone else like Charizard and Primeape._

_**Q:**__ If you were to include the Battle Chateau in Hoenn, would May and Brock battle there occasionally also, and where would it be located?_

_**A:**__ If I do include it, then May and Brock will have some battles, but not many. Introducing the Battle Chateau will mainly be for Ash's benefit. It would be located in Route 117 in between Mauville Town and __Verdanturf Town._

_**Q:**__Can you make when Ash and May become a couple similar to the Anakin and Padmé scene from Star Wars Episode 2 Attack of the Clones?_

_**A:**__ I'm afraid not. I've already got the scene planned out._

_**Q: **__So, is Ash gonna train some of his Pokémon like Bayleef?_

_**A:**__ Yes._

_**C: **__But my friend it is possible for Lotad to learn both razor leaf and water gun even in game_

_**R:**__ Please tell me how. I've tried doing it without success._

_**C: **__If Misty does get Sharpedo, I was wondering if there were going to be any side scenes where we see them interact, as I can see plenty of conflicts between them, almost like Charizard and Ash._

_**R:**__ I may slip some in at times, but I can't promise it._

_**C: **__What I mean by 'fan-made' is that you create an 'episode' of your own. For example, Ash and co must journey up Mt. Pyre in order to help a Hex Manic and Ash catches a Duskull. (They never did it in the anime I don't think.) Some that is different from the main advanced story line._

_**R:**__ I see, thanks for explaining. Yes, I will be doing some fan-made chapters._

_**Q: **__So when will the relationship between Ash and May start to come around?_

_**A:**__ There will be little fluff pieces, and other moments throughout their journey up until after Ash gets the Balance Badge. It will be sometime after that when they finally become a couple. So it's a long way off unfortunately._

_**Q:**__ Will Zinnia or Lisia appear in the future?_

_**A:**__ Lisia will appear at the Grand Festival. Zinnia will definitely appear at some point, but her goals won't be exactly like they are in the game._

_**Q:**__ Is there a chance that Ash could catch a Ralts?_

_**A:**__ Sorry, Ash won't be getting a Ralts._

_**Q:**__ Have you thought about which Pokémon Ash will catch with the Heavy Ball? Perhaps Aron which will evolve into Lairon and eventually Aggron? Will Ash use his Heavy Ball to catch an Aron which will eventually evolve into an Aggron?_

_**A:**__ You're both on the right track._

_**Q:**__ Did they get any others?_

_**A:**__ They all got a Fast Ball each. Brock used his to catch Pineco. Misty and Ash also got a Lure Ball; Ash used his to catch to catch Totodile. Brock also got a Heavy Ball._

_**Q:**__ Why don't you give him a steel type like Skarmory?_

_**A:**__ Brock will get another Steel type, but it won't be Skarmory._

_**Q:**__ Wonder how he'll act when they get to Cameron Palace?_

_**A:**__ Cameron Palace isn't until the Battle Frontier and so Ash will be dating May at the point. So he would react a lot better than if he went around this time in the story._

_**Q:**__ Also, will Ash get more Pokémon, besides Corphish, on Dewford Island, or just mentioned Pokémon?_

_**A:**__ He will catch one more along with Corphish._

_**Q:**__ Will he eventually get a Beldum?_

_**A: **__Someone will._

_**Q: **__Why not let Brock keep the Sharpedo? I mean, he has an affinity for water Pokémon, after the whole thing with his mother and the gym?_

_**A: **__He would keep Sharpedo if he didn't think that there was a better place for him to go. He was the leader of the pack, so he was a fighter, and Brock believes that it would thrive better with Misty. If Misty couldn't trade for him, or for some reason, didn't want Sharpedo, then Brock would have either given him to his mother or keep him. However, Misty agreed._

_**Q:**__ Question though, does Ash still have his Tauros? If you need Ash to get some new Pokémons why not have a Pokémon Swap Meet in Hoenn?_

_**A:**__ I intend for there to be one._

_**Q:**__ Is Steven going to play a major role in this story?_

_**A:**__ Most likely, yeah. At the very least, he will be involved when the Legendaries start tearing everything apart._


	11. AN: Story has been adopted

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back but unfortunately this isn't a chapter as you can plainly see. I'm just announcing the rewrite of this story.

But first I must apologize for the lack of updates and responses on my lack of updates in not only this story but my others to. I won't go into details, but life has been very challenging the last few months, but now I'm back and ready to write.

Honestly I've had to change a lot of things in my life the last few months, and so I feel that it would be best to start fresh in my writing. So I'm sorry to all those enjoying this story and I hope I can make the rewrite be an overall better story.

Basically in the rewrite, Ash never ventured to the Hoenn region, instead he met Scott and competed in the Kanto Battle Frontier. He then went on to the Sinnoh region followed by Unova and Kalos. Now he is heading to Hoenn with every attention on winning the league, but he will have to defeat many of his old and new rivals to claim the title.

Ash will be paired with two girls, one of them is May and the other undecided. There will be more information on the new story when I post it shortly.

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**Adventures in Hoenn has officially been adopted by Child-Of-R'lyeh.**


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